Rising Tides
by Fanfiction1190
Summary: A hero's journey never ends and is not one without tragedy. The Fates had not been kind to this soul and would never really allow him peace. But there were others who were like him. Those who had protected the mortal world time after time, as he did. Lost, Percy Jackson has a long road ahead of him to heal, a road which leads him to S.H.I.E.L.D.
1. Chapter 1

**_Rising Tides_**

 **Chapter One – The Beginning of the End**

 **Percy Jackson**

It was in the midst of battle that Percy had realized that he was not going to be making it home. Sure, he knew that he was facing the worst of all foes—the Earth Mother herself—a being with almost limitless power and influence, who decided that she wanted to exterminate all demigods and rule the planet for herself. That didn't mean that he knew just how much his life would change in this one day. He couldn't have known. After all, he did not have the gift of prophecy or did he even have the wisdom of Athena, not that the goddess would willingly help him, unless it was for her own gain.

Here he was, standing in one of the places most familiar to him in all of his life, Camp Half-Blood and he was seeing it get torn apart right in front of his eyes. Gaea was both nowhere and everywhere, not being subject to any limitations. She had woken when both he and Annabeth had been wounded and ultimately it had been both of their faults for not paying more attention. The Earth Mother was creating almost cinematic destruction, with trees being uprooted and the ground splitting around them. Cabins were being ripped in half as the earth seemed to want to collapse and rise all at once. That's probably because it did want to do so.

The goddess stood before him and his friends wearing a gleeful expression, revelling in the death and destruction she was causing. Around him were the Olympians themselves looking far worse than the enemy. The only advantage they had was that both Greek and Roman were united in their attempts to subdue her—of course, that only happened because the idiot who started the rift blew himself into oblivion, and had managed to hit Gaea, but unfortunately, the Earth Mother was too strong to beat by a simple cannon.

She had her back turned to him, and he was within striking distance. In the corner of his vision he could see his girlfriend nodding at him to take the chance he got. Raising his sword, he lunged toward her and slashed his sword in a downward arc. The blade got closer and closer to her skin, until she disappeared into a heap of sand and suddenly he heard it... a cry of anguish and hurt. It couldn't be... The world seemed to slow as he turned toward the cry and there he saw it...

* * *

 **Phil Coulson**

Phil Coulson was not usually a paranoid man, he was cautious and tried to be as prepared as he could be, but he was never one to think the worse of everything and everyone. Hell, he hired a bunch of mercenaries once and they hadn't tried to kill him, so he figured he was a good judge of people and of situations in general. Besides, the paranoia was best left to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s former director, Nick Fury.

He prided himself in running a much tighter ship than those who were in his position before. After all, this Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. did not wish for his organization to get so large and political that he couldn't control it at all. He did not report to the World Security Council and did not have to listen to the will of the politicians that ran both his home nation and those abroad. Unfortunately, this meant that he did not have many people willing to help his organization. For that reason, a part of him would always despise that Nick Fury thought that he could just vanish after the events at the _Triskelion_ in Washington, D.C.

Leave it to Phil Coulson to pick up the burning pieces of the once massive S.H.I.E.L.D. who apparently was so complacent in its oversight that it did not even realize that a significant portion of its employees were the followers of a Nazi cult/terrorist organization. Great job there World Security Council. But, it was best to leave that in the past.

Looking at the large screen in front of him, he saw all of the S.H.I.E.L.D. bases that were still operational and was content with what he saw. The organization was stable and still had numerous bases, represented by blue markers, around the globe. He counted 32 bases that were still operational, but the _Playground_ was his home base. The old S.S.R. base had seen its fair share of action and looked the part, but it was home and it would do.

He began thinking about his plans for the future. He needed to get _Theta Protocol_ off the ground and for that, he was going to need to tap into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reserve of funds. This project was going to leave quite a dent in the budget. Repairing and retrofitting a Helicarrier to no longer require fuel to operate, but rather electricity from arc reactors would definitely do that to anyone's wallet.

Suddenly, he felt a twinge of discomfort in his left forearm. He looked down to see his latest prosthetic. He was going through them so fast that Fitz could hardly keep up with producing them for him. Advanced in every way, it still did not operate like a real hand. He was no longer as dexterous and many tasks that needed fine movements could not be done with his left hand.

Again, he was distracted. He sighed and decided that this was enough time standing in front of his desk and looking at the screen in front of him. He had work to do. First on the list being contacting Assistant Director Maria Hill and conveying the news about _Theta Protocol_. The woman who still served as the loyal second-in-command to S.H.I.E.L.D. was now working in Stark Tower. He needed to be careful about his interaction with her due her day job working in the Human Resources Department at Stark Industries. The Avengers couldn't know that he was alive yet. It wasn't time.

Finally, he picked up his tablet from his desk and placed a video call to Maria's private line. It rang for a few minutes and Maria's face appeared on his tablet. With a tap of a button, the conversation moved from his tablet to the screen that occupied his wall.

Maria raised a hand to signal him not to speak yet and he could see her moving around Stark Tower, getting to a secure location. Once inside her office, Maria nodded toward Phil.

"Hill, it's good to see you." he greeted.

"Hello to you too. You're lucky that Stark was distracted by the renovations he's commissioned to Stark Tower, sorry, Avengers Tower or he would have seen you." she scolded. The woman set her tablet on her desk and he could see her logging on to her desktop computer.

"So, how is _Theta Protocol_ coming along?" she asked, not bothering with small talk.

He sighed, knowing that not much work had been done during the time that he had thought up the plan and now. "Not much, I'm afraid. Did you know that retrofitting an almost 450 metre long aircraft carrier that has movable turbofan engines and a cloaking device to work with a completely different power source is not as easy as you'd think?" he joked.

Based on the silence he got from Maria, he knew that humour wouldn't do anything to alleviate the situation. "Okay, so I've managed to get almost 1000 of the 2500 crew back to working for us and I've already tasked the engineers to remove the liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen engines and to replace all of the necessary pipes and connections to the main power plant. That alone is gonna take a few months." he told her.

"That's not exactly good news, we have track the movement of Loki's Sceptre and get it out of human hands. That thing is best kept where it belongs, in Odin's vault, where no one can ever lay hands on it." she commented.

"Well, as much as I would want to be able to fast-track all of this work, I can't. Whatever S.H.I.E.L.D. accounts I have access to only provide me with a total annual budget of 190 billion dollars, and retrofitting this Helicarrier is gonna cost us a pretty penny. More like 50 billion of them actually. That and the expenses in having to repair old bases and hire new agents will make sure that we will need to make every dollar count. At this point, we're lucky that S.H.I.E.L.D. had gotten so good at backroom dealing that every member nation is still paying its dues to us."

"You know, I never asked but, how are those accounts replenishing themselves, because as far as I know, there isn't any country in the world too friendly with S.H.I.E.L.D. right now." she questioned.

"Capitalism. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s had access to restricted parts of its members' monetary systems since the Cold War. I still can't believe that Fury never told anyone where the money came from all this time." he said sombrely.

"It doesn't matter anyway, because all the money in the world can't repair that ship soon enough. We're going to need to wait before we act. The timeline I'm being given is 8 months. Until then, get the team back together. We need them ready for when _Theta Protocol_ goes live." he concluded.

"Alright... Phil, I've been talking to Agent May and based on what I heard, you need to let up a bit. You're working yourself too hard. Take it from me, ease up." she told him softly, a tone which Maria almost never used.

It was great that she cared, but it wouldn't help them now. He needed to plow on ahead and make sure that the Avengers would be safe. He owed them that for the web of lies spun for him. "Just tell me about how they're doing. That'll help me."

She obeyed him and began listing off the state of his friends. "Stark is busy renovating his tower and has managed to yet again survive another assassination attempt. Thor is off-world. Rogers is in Europe trying to find Barnes with his new pal Wilson. Banner's teaching at Simon Fraser University in Canada. Romanoff's in Paris, trying to live under the radar. Barton's home with his family; he and Laura want another kid."

"Thanks Hill. I'll talk to you when I can." Phil replied before shutting off the communications link. He walked away from his spot in front of the wall screen and sat down at his desk. He began opening files that he had been working on and started to get to work. He had missions to approve and reports to read. He dared to look at the time and found that it was currently 5:00 PM, Pacific Standard Time. Usually, this would mean a break but not today. It was only a short while later that his current reality would start to tear apart, only to be replaced by one more wondrous than he could imagine.

* * *

 **Percy Jackson**

There was his Wise Girl, her body arched in pain; a spear piercing through her abdomen. He couldn't believe it. After all these years of hardship and trip to the very definition of Hell, she was going to be taken away from him. The goddess had a sickening smile on her face as she threw his girlfriend's body to the ground. He didn't exactly know what happened to him next, but all he knew was that he only felt raw emotion. Pain, regret, love, anguish... then, it all settled into the bottom of his stomach. He could only see red.

Armed with a thirst for vengeance and blood, he bounded toward the Earth Mother, Riptide raised high. He didn't really feel anything around him and his body was in autopilot, just like it had been when he had blown up Mount St. Helens. As the eighteen-year-old barrelled toward Gaea, he could only hope in a corner of his mind that he would join her in Elysium.

His blade struck true and slashed a deep gash along the chest of the goddess. She fell to her knees clutching her wound and as she did, the earth shook as control was taken from her and given to him. A demigod he may be, but his emotion was unquantifiable and contributed to his strength. He felt the water of the Long Island Sound rush to him, hurricane winds forming and the earth caving all at once. In that moment, he experienced both the greatest pain and greatest rush of his life, the world shifted and he couldn't really tell what was happening anymore and he lost succumbed to realm of Hypnos.

* * *

When that happened, there was complete silence. The earth, sea and sky quietened themselves and when the dust finally settled, all that could be seen was the body of a young man, steaming and emitting a powerful aura.

* * *

One hour later at 11:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time was when Percy Jackson awoke to his new reality. The Fates did not grant him his simple wish. The one he loved was gone. There wasn't any coming back from death. He knew that better than anyone, he'd seen the underworld. He learned from his father that Annabeth had been declared dead at 10:05 PM. From where he was on a cot close to his father's throne, in the now shrunk throne room, he could see the tears running silently on Athena's face. The goddess had always seemed cold and impersonal to him, but in this moment, he saw a grieving mother, one who had to bury child after child, never seeing one outlive her.

The Seven gathered around him as the gods gave their thanks to the demigods. As per tradition, the leaders were offered lavish gifts. Jason and Piper had received the gifts of godhood. Frank and Hazel had their respective curses lifted and were free to live their lives. Leo had been resurrected and had been taken to Miami, where Calypso awaited. Nico became a god of the underworld, serving his father and Reyna had been freed from a curse by Venus, one which apparently originated when Bellona had insulted the Roman Goddess of Beauty. He saw his friends around him all looking happy, but there was a sensation of melancholy in the air. One of their own had died. He was certain that it she hadn't died, someone would have tried to talk to him or offer him something, but the Council Meeting ended without a single word uttered to him. He was led silently by his father to a room in the Palace of Poseidon. He was left there with a drachma to contact his mortal family.

He didn't call his mother. He threw the drachma against the wall and let out his frustration. He hadn't been fast enough to react to Gaea. He hadn't been strong enough. He failed. That night, he wept for hours, until sleep got the better of him.

* * *

 **Phil Coulson**

It was 6:00 PM, Pacific Standard Time that Phil Coulson was interrupted while he was reading a report on a shootout that S.H.I.E.L.D had been part of in Amsterdam by Agent Daisy Johnson, formerly Skye. The door to his office slammed open and she was out of breath when she put a tablet close to him showing satellite energy readings focused in Greece. He could see a concentration of energy near Mount Olympus and mere moments later, the readings disappeared.

"Explain." he ordered.

"The readings just came on a few minutes ago and they are the same as the ones that the wormhole above Stark Tower emitted. This time though, whatever is making the energy is moving at a speed faster than light. These same readings just popped up in Long Island." she responded, shifting the view of the map on her tablet to show New York state.

"What do we know about this? How is it moving? Is it the Chitauri again?" he fired back.

"We don't know. And we don't have any assets on the ground in New York state. That area is Stark's turf. If we want to know what happens, we need his help." she told him.

"No. Stark can't know about S.H.I.E.L.D. Get me Maria Hill now. She can give us all we need." he ordered. His agent quickly typed on the tablet and moments later, Maria Hill's unhappy face was on the wall screen.

"Phil, its 9:00 PM in New York. I was hoping to actually get to enjoy my night, relaxing, so this better be good." Hill barked at him.

"No time for this Hill. We just got readings similar to that of the Chitauri wormhole from our satellites overlooking Long Island. I need you to get J.A.R.V.I.S. to use Stark Industries technology to get me surveillance on the area." he ordered.

The woman's facial expression changed in an instant. Everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. knew just how bad dealing with that wormhole was. Another one would mean disaster.

* * *

An hour later, J.A.R.V.I.S. was still not be able to identify what was happening and there seemed to be interference running rampant in the area which rendered any technology in the area useless. They would only have satellite feeds, nothing more.

By now, all his close friends at the base were in his office, looking at the satellite feed on the wall. It was then that there was another spike. This one larger than before and only lasted a few minutes at most, before suddenly, all of the energy readings died down.

There was silence. Whatever had happened there, just disappeared and when J.A.R.V.I.S. could finally safely send a drone, there was nothing in the area but a strawberry farm. The image flickered across the screen and Phil could swear that Tony Stark knew how to build better quality cameras for drones, but he attributed the flickering to the drone malfunctioning because of the energy spike.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Rising Tides_**

 **Chapter Two – Graves are for the Living**

 **Percy Jackson**

When he woke up the next day, he could feel the hoarseness of his throat. The anguish, the pain, and every other emotion he had felt had gotten the better of him. The room around him was in disarray. The once spotless bedroom had cracks in the marble floor. The ornate walls that surrounded him depicting symbols of the ocean had contorted and become almost unrecognizable. The bed itself didn't fare any better against Percy's onslaught of emotion, the wood had cracked in many places by the pressure of the water-rich air in the room.

And this was how he spent the next week. He didn't eat, he didn't move, and he didn't talk. He stayed in place for the entire week, not wanting to do anything. It was only his godly heritage that kept him alive. He was sure that his family and his friends had tried coming into the room, but Percy kept it locked. It wouldn't have really mattered though, they were gods and demigods, they could obviously break down a door. He suspected they just left him alone in order to grieve.

* * *

When he finally had gotten enough of wallowing in self-guilt, he got up. He surveyed the room and found in the corner of the room a glinting drachma. In that moment, he felt terrible. His loving mother and stepfather, who wanted to try to give Percy a sibling, were left down below Olympus, not knowing anything and not being allowed up to the Eternal City. He figured that if he was going to apologize to his mother, he would do it in person. There was simply no other way in his mind. He stripped down all of his clothes and moved to the bathroom, which had luckily survived the worst of his powers.

He looked in the slightly cracked mirror to see what he looked like. His face was gaunt and he had bags under his eyes, showing just how bad he felt. The once invulnerable skin on his body now was crisscrossed by scars. Scars from monster thorns, blades and spears—even a few bullet holes from when some monsters had gotten creative with mortal technology, after all, why play fair when you could gun down your enemy easily. All of the wounds had healed, but he suspected that there was little he could do about the scars; he doubted even Apollo or his son Asclepius could have made them disappear.

He stepped into the large shower and put the water on its hottest setting. He just stood underneath the spray for a moment, before he picked up a bottle of body wash and began to lather it over his body.

* * *

He got out of the shower perhaps half an hour later, with a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair moist. It had been his first in a long time. The first warm shower and the first time to wash his hair in weeks. The _Argo II_ had bathrooms on-board, but they couldn't hold a candle to the luxury of this palace. That was why he didn't make the water dry instantly. He needed to enjoy the fact that for now, he did not have to put on armour and fight a war for the Olympians.

Through another door in the room, he found a sprawling walk-in closet. It held so many clothes in it that he suspected Aphrodite had been involved in getting them there. Clothes for formal occasions and even swimming trunks lined the room. He looked around until he found a section with lots of jeans, where he picked up a pair of dark-wash jeans and walked to another section filled with T-shirts and picked white shirt up.

That was when he realized, he didn't find any underwear. He dropped the clothes he had chosen on a chair and walked around to find a few drawers embedded in the wall of clothes and pulled them open one-by-one. Ties, cuff links, socks, and finally underwear. Picking up a pair of black boxer-briefs, he dropped his towel and slid them on. Going back to the chair, he picked up his chosen clothes and pulled them on. He didn't bother going to fix his hair. He knew that it couldn't be tamed in this state, so he considered himself lucky since it didn't contain monster residue in it for once.

He considered getting something to eat, but decided against it. His mother had waited long enough. He glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand as he walked out and saw the time, 10:34 AM. He didn't even really know what day it was...

* * *

It was actually a Saturday, something he found when he asked the receptionist in the lobby of the Empire State Building. His mother was an author but his stepfather was a high-school teacher. They didn't live in the best neighbourhood in New York, but not the worst either. They lived in a middle-class area where Percy might have actually made friends in if he wasn't constantly whisked away from his life to deal with the gods' problems.

He walked out and was greeted by beautiful New York. Sure the city had its problems, and sometimes was really not pretty with the crime and rudeness, but it was home. From here, he could see in the distance Stark Tower, which was being renovated for what was probably the hundredth time. He knew the goings-on of the city. He knew that not long after the Titan War, New York had been attacked by an army of aliens, saved by superheroes and the scene was cleaned up by a massive international spy agency by the next day. The only thing that the agents forgot was to rebuild the buildings. That had been a New York effort.

He remembered his mother and Paul telling him about their efforts in rebuilding process. They volunteered time and money in helping people find loved ones after the disaster and dealt with the influx of homeless people after the buildings had fallen. But fast-forward a few years and you would have never guessed that there was even an alien invasion. The buildings had sprung up like weeds and had once again taken over the skyline. Built identically to each of their respective predecessors, someone in the future might never know that these buildings had once collapse. He shoved his hand in his pocket to find a few tenners. He entered the nearest subway station and made his way home.

* * *

He got home half an hour later. People were bustling all around trying to make the most of their weekend. His parents were most likely at home, being the romantics they were, cuddling. He had been glad that his mother had found Paul. He was a good guy, who was handsome with a hint of greying hair, was intelligent and was happy with having a stepson. The man had made his mother so happy that no matter what Aphrodite did to his life, he couldn't fault the goddess for having given his mother happiness.

This thought brought a more unpleasant one to the surface. The goddess had promised to make his life "a nice tragic love story". She had succeeded. The person who he saw himself marry and grow old with had died. She wasn't coming back.

* * *

When he worked up the courage to get in the building, go into the elevator and knock on the front door of his apartment, Percy didn't know what to expect. He had ignored his mother, even after he came back from being kidnapped by his aunt and then forced to fight against the Giants. The door of his apartment swung open to reveal his stepfather, dressed in a grey T-shirt and sweatpants.

Paul's facial expression was one of shock. Like he couldn't believe who was at the door. Percy couldn't blame him, he was kidnapped far too often for him to hold the shock against his stepfather. His stepfather looked him up and down, as if checking for any wounds before pulling him into the biggest bear hug of his life.

He felt overcome with emotion. Paul might now have been his birth father, but he was always there for Percy. He was there when Percy learned to drive, he was there when Percy needed help on his homework, he was there when Percy was angry, he was always a good father—even if Percy wasn't his biological son. "I can't believe you're here. Your mom and I have been worried sick!" his stepfather said.

"Paul, who's at the door?" a woman voice asked. Percy would recognize that voice anywhere. It was his mom.

Paul released Percy from the hug, pulled him inside, closed the door and gestured for him to go. "Go see your mom. Shes' in the master bedroom. She's been wanting to see you for months." he told Percy.

Percy walked through the apartment, turning into the hallway that led to the bedrooms. He walked past the guest washroom, past his room toward the end of the hallway. The door was halfway open, but not fully. He pushed the door open to be met with the sight of his mother sitting up in bed, an iPad in hand, reading.

His mother looked up and finally saw him. She started tearing up and put down her tablet to get up. When she got up, he could see it, her belly which had previously been flat now had a little round bump in it. He met her halfway and hugged his mom. She held him tight and let out tears. He did the same. Eventually, she pulled him to her bed and let him lay his head on her lap.

"I know what happened, sweetie. Let it out. Just let it all out." she soothed. She stroked his head and gave him comforting words. He cried and cried some more. The loss was fresh on his mind. It had only been a week. A week which didn't give his young mind and heart enough time to process the heavy blow it had been dealt. The most destructive blow it had ever been dealt, ever.

He took his time. He told her everything. Every detail from the battlefield, every single course of action he took, and every emotion he felt. He was safe here. She wouldn't judge him, she would only console.

It was an hour later that Paul entered the room with two mugs filled with a herbal tea, one for him, one for his mother. Paul set them down, kissed his mother and gave Percy a comforting pat on the back before leaving the room, pulling the door halfway shut behind him.

* * *

"Tell me about this little one, mom." he gestured toward her growing stomach. She smiled at him.

"Percy, you know Paul and I have tried to get a child. Well, a few months ago, I didn't feel so good, so I went to visit the doctor. They told me that I wasn't sick, but pregnant." she explained. "I'm so sorry that you weren't here when we found out. I know that its not fair to put the responsibility of being an older brother on you, but just know that we aren't trying to replace y—" she said quickly, before she was interrupted by her son.

"No mom, I'm happy. You had me when you were young and never really got to enjoy having a kid. You're older now, have more money. You can have a child more comfortably. Based on what I know, Paul's gonna be a great dad and you're already the best mom in the world. And I'm gonna be the best older brother this little guy's gonna have." he told her.

She smiled at him and took a sip of her tea. "The only thing, Percy, is that the little guy isn't a little guy, she's a little girl." she told him.

* * *

It had taken him a few days to get comfortable again around the house. She helped him move back into his room and understood that he was still grieving. She took down the pictures in his room that had Annabeth in it, and put her stuff in a box at his request.

When he finally entered his room for the first time in a while, he realized that so many of his memories had actually involved Annabeth. Many pictures or mementos were missing. His mother had been thorough, but how could she not be after all his pleading.

He fell into a routine for the next few days, before he finally worked up the nerve to ask about Wise Girl.

* * *

Percy learned that she was buried shortly after her death, with her parents flying in from San Francisco. Her father had requested a burial, rather than the traditional burning of the pyre. She had been buried in the Cavalry Cemetery in Queens, with the New York skyline looming in the background. There had been a nice, small service done mainly for Annabeth's mortal family. Chiron, Thalia, Nico, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Will and Reyna had all been there.

It was Wednesday when he asked his mother and Paul to take him to the cemetery. He got out of the car and his parents followed a few paces back. They were giving him some privacy. He walked toward the edge of the graveyard. A large space which provided the best view of Manhattan had been purchased permanently by Athena. The goddess wanted to be able to watch over her daughter.

The mausoleum that Athena had built herself for her burial was enormous. A work coming straight from the brain of the world's most intelligent and innovative being, it was a marvel which looked like a smaller and complete version of the Parthenon.

An imposing structure of Carrara marble, quarried in Tuscany, the building was beautifully decorated by friezes and statues of Annabeth's greatest accomplishments. To others it might have been strange to see modern depictions on a mausoleum built to look like the Parthenon, but to Percy, it looked like what Annabeth always dreamt of. Her goal in life was to become an architect so that one day, she would have been leading the reconstruction of the Parthenon in Athens. She wanted to restore the sacred temple of Athena, and the Acropolis as a whole to what it was in its glory days, the centre of life in Athens.

Tears fell as he walked pas the threshold into the monument to his Wise Girl. He walked past marble statues of himself, Grover and Annabeth fighting monsters, statues of Annabeth with Chiron, Annabeth meeting her mother(who was dressed in mortal clothes), scenes with her mortal family. There was everything about her.

Braziers burning flames lit the way inside the monument. Walking up to the inner gates of the mini Parthenon, he pushed the large bronze gates open to reveal a large room lit by even more braziers. At the centre of the room was a large marble sarcophagus. It was one to rival the sarcophagus built in 1902 for the re-burial of Jadwiga, Queen of Poland from 1384 to 1399.

The sculpture on the top of the sarcophagus was one of Annabeth dressed in a chiton. Flowing on her body and wearing a circlet of gold on her head, she looked every bit the goddess that Percy believed her to be. The sides of the sarcophagus were filled with golden Athenian symbols. The owl, the olive, and Nike all made appearances, but one thing surprised him, it also contained symbols of his godly house. The horse and trident were inlaid in gold.

In the far end of the mausoleum was an enormous statue. It was built to resemble the _Athena Parthenos_ , but instead of holding Nike in one hand and _Aegis_ leaning against her other side, this statue was built with Athena lifting up a spear in the arm that usually held the goddess of victory and her other arm held _Aegis_ in front of her body. The expression on the statue was defiant, as if daring any to stand in her way of her eternal vigil.

He was full on crying now in the dimly lit room. This was where Annabeth would be now for him. He wished he could die and join her, but he knew that wouldn't even be the case. Heroes must die heroic deaths in order to make it to Elysium. If he died with the intention of dying to go to Elysium, he would be sent to the Fields of Asphodel.

He heard footsteps behind him, which he thought were his mother's and Paul's. But then a voice he had rarely ever heard spoke to him.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a woman's wistful voice asked. He turned around sharply to see Athena, standing a few steps behind him.

"She always wanted to finish the Parthenon." she continued. "So many of my children wanted to honour me. Most wanted to go on quests to show they were superior, even Annabeth did that for a while, but she concluded that she had to rebuild the Parthenon to honour me. She wanted to do something for me, not something which would get herself glory, something which would bring me back to the forefront of Athenian society."

"Yeah. That's why she wanted to do anything. She was supposed to go to college, you know? I told her that we could go to college together in New Rome. Then we could be safe, New Rome was protected, the city was big. She could have built us a villa. We could've had a life together." he told the goddess softly.

"Yes. I know." she told him. "I may not have always approved of you as her boyfriend, but you were loyal and dedicated."

"No, I wasn't. I failed her. She's dead because I didn't do anything to stop Gaea in time. I'm the reason she's dead." he told her dejectedly.

"Don't." she told him sharply. "You cannot do that to her memory. She died a hero's death. She honoured me with her sacrifice. You wont diminish her like that." She gestured around. "All of this. The replica Parthenon, she gets to have it because she made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us. You don't get to wallow in guilt. You may be her boyfriend and you may have been there when she died, but no. You don't understand the pain of losing a child. You will never understand the pain of losing thousands of children. Every single one, dying before their parent." she cried out.

The goddess was in tears at this point, but she had never looked more imposing to him than in that moment, in a temple dedicated to her favourite daughter. "I was her mother! I should have been able to save her! Ancient Laws be damned!" she almost shouted.

He nodded sadly to the goddess. This was a goddess he considered cold and sometimes hated for the way her actions caused Annabeth to feel. His Wise Girl always worried about what her mother thought about her, but in that moment, he saw the raw hurt that Athena carried around for eternity. That on its own stopped him from making any movements or saying anything. She may have been grieving her daughter, but this was a woman who had an unthinkable amount of power.

"If you wish to honour her, do not take from her memory. Live your life. Move on. Find love. Marry someone. Have children. You need to make sure your life won't stop because she's gone. In death, we are all joined together—at least all mortals are. One day, when you're old and die of old age in a warm bed, family surrounding you, you will be able to meet her again and tell her about the adventures you had while living. You get to meet her when you're old and die in a warm bed, I am an immortal. If I die, I fade to nothing. I will never get to see her ever again. Let her go. She will find someone in Elysium to love and you will find someone in life to love." With that speech done, Athena's body turned into a shower of feathers—all of which soon became sparkling mist.

He stood rooted in his spot, unsure of what to do. After what seemed like an eternity, he moved back to Annabeth and paid his respects.

"Hey Wise Girl. I know you probably can't hear this unless Hades is being super nice today, but me and your mom just had what will be the most scary chat in my life." he joked.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there in time. You died and I couldn't do anything. I wasn't even there for your funeral, you know?" he spoke.

"I'm going to do what your mom told me. You can let go. I won't hate you. Find someone in Elysium. Be happy. One day, I'll be back. Don't worry, I won't do anything too reckless, at least not too reckless in my book. I hope that you know that I will always have a part of me that will love you. You were my first love and I'm sorry that our story together is finished. I love you Annabeth." he told the sarcophagus. With that, he turned to make his way back to his parents.

* * *

When he was finally outside, he could see that the weather had gotten cloudy. It looked ominous outside and for some reason, he felt like something was going to happen soon. He walked toward his parents, when all of a sudden a hellhound bounded right in front of him. It growled at him and was readying itself to strike.

He pulled out Riptide and slashed at the beast just as it jumped on him. It erupted in a shower of sulphurous dust. He saw more monsters on the prowl around him. "Get back home! I have to get to Camp!" he yelled toward his mother and stepfather.

He could see them contemplating whether to listen to him, when he glared at them and gestured for them to leave. They made their way to the car and drove quickly for the exit. Once his parents were safe, he took off in a run, away from all the tombstones in the direction of Newtown Creek. From there, he'd be in the East River and then he could make it back to Camp Half-Blood.

Unfortunately, it was as simple as just jumping in the river. Monsters were converging on him and he needed to clear a path. He tapped into his powers as a Son of Poseidon. Rain started to fall and the winds picked up. The earth shook as lighting sprang up in the sky. A tornado formed around him as he ran and lifted him off the ground. Around him, monsters were being torn to shreds by the sheer strength of the storm. His vision was spinning. He felt the same as he did when he faced Gaea. He couldn't control his power. He was now close to the East River.

That was the moment that he let out a cry of pain as his power drained him completely of all energy. He fell head first into the East River and all he could do was command the water to take him to Camp Half-Blood before he blacked out.

* * *

 **Phil Coulson**

It was a few weeks later that Phil Coulson had seen the spike of energy burst into life on his tablet again. He knew that he needed to act.

"May!" he called. The woman who was his trusted friend and loyal agent walked into the room, looking no less serious than ever.

"Phil." she greeted.

"The energy spike we read before is back. I need you on a quinjet to New York right away. Your cover is going to be FBI Agent Melanie Montgomery, you're investigating a potential security threat in New York. There's a quinjet in the hangar preprogrammed with coordinates for Cavalry Cemetery, Queens. Start your search for that energy spike there. This is a top priority mission. You go in dark. You report to no one but me." he told her.

She nodded to him and made to leave before she turned to face him. "What do you think we're getting ourselves into now?" she asked.

"I really have no idea, but something is producing powerful energy, and I may not be as paranoid as Fury, but we need to make sure that this can't harm people like the Chitauri. We can't have that happen again." he told her.

He watched her leave his office, closing the door behind her. With a S.H.I.E.L.D. quinjet, she should be in Queens in 3 hours.

* * *

Phil connected himself to Maria Hill's cell and spoke once the woman picked up. "Maria, Agent May is on her way to Queens. ETA is 3 hours. I need you to assist her and make sure that Stark knows nothing. He needs to keep on renovating that tower of his and not go looking for trouble." he told her. He immediately cut the line. That would be considered rude by anyone else, but to people like himself and Maria, it just meant that work had to start immediately. That was why he was on his way to speak to his top scientists. Fitz and Simmons were going to help him understand this.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Rising Tides_**

 **Chapter Three – Freeze! FBI**

 **Percy Jackson**

When he woke up in an underwater palace, Percy knew that he hadn't been able to control where he went when he blacked out. He looked around to see that it was in the same room that he had woken up in a few years ago when he had decided to take out Kronos' monster infested party boat. He made his way from the room to his father's throne room. As he approached the massive bronze doors, two of the four mermen guards stationed outside opened them for him.

As he entered the throne room, he noticed an elegant simplicity in it. It was decorated beautifully with scenes of his father's accomplishments. There were a few which included another woman with him, Amphitrite. He saw his father at the other end of the room sitting upon a large stone throne. Next to him was a regal woman, who wore an expression of displeasure when seeing him. That would be his father's wife. The woman he cheated on with his mother who bore him Percy. Luckily, it would seem that Triton was otherwise occupied since he was not present in the room.

He made his way to the thrones and bowed low. Well as well as he could underwater at least. He looked up slightly to see his father's face with a worried expression.

"My Lord, My Lady." Percy greeted.

"Percy. It's good to see you up again. You had a nasty run-in with those monsters there." his father told him. At this point, Amphitrite just huffed and got up to leave. He let the goddess leave before he even dared to get up from his bow.

"I know that you must have questions about your powers. The other Olympians and I know what is happening to you, son." he told Percy.

At this point, Percy really wanted to know what was happening to him. He motioned for his father to go on.

"What you're experiencing is a loss of connection between your mortal and godly blood. Before you ask how, know that when you fought Gaea, you managed to kill her without the aid of another god. A mere demigod could never hope to kill a primordial goddess." he explained. "The reason that you killed her was that you were channelling more and more of your godly energy until the two sides of you broke apart." his father said.

"So, what do I do now? Never use my powers again, because monsters are still out there, dad." he told his father.

"No." his father responded. "What you need to do is train, preferably away from camp so that you do not wreck havoc on it. Once you get used to the power that now flows through your veins, you will be fine and the two types of blood in your body will reconnect again, with the added benefit of having more powers." Poseidon concluded.

"Where do I do that though?" Percy asked. At this point, his father had a distraught and frustrated expression on his face.

"I'm afraid both don't know and cannot say. Your uncle said nothing when I informed Sally and Paul about Annabeth and allowed you to stay one week on Olympus, a place where no mortals should be and where demigods should only spend limited amounts of time." his father explained. "You know that the Ancient Laws prohibit me from doing anything to aid you, I can only manoeuvre what is in my domain. Getting you here was a stretch. I had to make a deal with the spirit of the East River to divert you to sea. And then, I had to make the ocean currents temporarily change their patterns. The point is, your uncle is displeased at what I'm doing. He may not show it, but he loves his children too and he doesn't think its fair that I get to spend more time with you than he gets to spend with Thalia and Jason." his father told him.

"Okay, dad. Thanks." Percy said, trying to put on a smile for his father. But before he could leave Poseidon got up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm afraid that you can't leave just yet. Your uncle still wants to speak to you. You haven't gotten your reward yet. Close your eyes." his father warned. And with that, he closed his eyes and felt the water around him change to air. When he opened his eyes again, he was on Olympus, outside the throne room. His father went in first, and Percy followed a few paces behind him.

* * *

The throne room was as magnificent as ever. Annabeth had made it truly a masterpiece. All of the gods were seated in their thrones, this time, all of them in Greco-Roman hybrid clothing. That had been a side-effect of their two warring personalities unifying. They could now switch between either aspect of themselves at will, with no pain. When he entered the room, he knelt in front of Zeus and waited for his uncle to speak.

"Nephew, you have done us proud in this last war. As per custom, every worthy hero gets to decide what reward they wish, and the Olympian Council recognizes unanimously that you are indeed worthy of any gift—even godhood." his uncle told him.

Percy remembered his conversation with Athena in that moment. He saw the goddess' face in his mind and pictured her anguish at never being able to see any mortal after death. "No, uncle." Percy said. "I don't want godhood."

There gods started murmuring to one another, progressively getting louder until Poseidon slammed his trident to the ground creating a loud bang. The room became silent at once. "What do you want, my boy?" his father asked.

"I want to be have my demigod scent removed. I don't want monsters to be able to smell me, anywhere." he told them. "I also want to be able to live my life alone. That means no longer being summoned to do quests, or anything of the sort."

This caused uproar in the chamber. Shouts were so loud that Percy couldn't even distinguish what was being said. It only quietened when the flames in braziers and torches suddenly rose making all of the Olympians silent. Hestia rose from the flame at the centre of the room and spoke.

"He has been our greatest asset for a long time. He deserves peace in his life." his aunt told everyone.

"Sister," Zeus began. "Perseus is as you said our greatest asset, without him, the future of Olympus is uncertain. What if there is another threat?"

"It doesn't matter. He is not our slave. If it is what he desires, then it is what will be done." This time, it was Ares who spoke. Actually, it was Mars if the maple leaf pin on the god's chiton meant anything. He was grateful that Frank's father respected his wishes.

"This council is clearly divided. We must vote." Athena told her father. Zeus sighed and spoke "All those who wish to honour the boy's wishes, raise your hands."

One-by-one the hands of Poseidon, Athena, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Mars, Juno, Venus and Hestia went up.

"All opposed." Zeus said, out of formality.

The hands of Zeus, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter and Hephaestus went up.

"This vote passes. The boy is free from his scent and will not be ordered to do anything by the gods." Zeus said. "While we take away your weaknesses, your powers—even the newest—will remain. Watch what you do, nephew.

* * *

He got out of the throne room shortly after. When he left, his father waved goodbye and disappeared into a breeze. As he left, he was joined by a few gods. Venus, Mars, Artemis and Athena came to him together.

"We wanted to thank you for all that you've done for us, kid." Mars said. "We may not be able to call on you to help anymore, but I appreciate all you've done for Frank and Clarisse." The God of War placed his hand on Percy's shoulder and Percy felt energy coursing through him. "You now carry the Blessing of Mars. If you were my kid, you'd have some sick powers right now, but you'll have to make do with slightly increased strength. Oh and before I forget, consider that curse my Greek counterpart put on you gone." With that, the god turned toward one of the winding streets of Olympus.

Artemis came next. "I can't remove the curse that is on all of Poseidon's children that makes sure range fighting will never be something you can do, because Apollo was the one to curse you and your siblings, but I can lessen its impact." she told him. "You won't be ever able to use a bow, but if you try a gun, it shouldn't try to fire at you now."

The Wisdom Goddess came next. She walked up to him and placed a finger on his forehead. "Your dyslexia is gone. Hopefully you can now find a use for mortal languages." She told him. "Remember what I told you. Let her go." Those were the final words Athena had for him before dissolving into feathers.

Venus was the only one left, and frankly, Percy didn't ever want to speak to either aspect of the Goddess of Love ever again. He couldn't really tell her off without getting fried, so he settled for looking at his feet and hoping that she would leave soon.

She instead walked closer and put one hand on his cheek. He was about to rip it away from him when she spoke. "Her death wasn't my doing. I know that I told you before, but I did not meddle in fate. I had no hand in her death. That, I can swear upon the Styx." The goddess told him.

Thunder crackled in the distance and he waited to see if her statement was true. When nothing happened, he was shocked. He had thought that it had been her fault all this time. Percy thought that Aphrodite or Venus had planned for Annabeth to die.

"I can't bring back your love, but I can promise you that there is a soul on earth mean for you. She is a beautiful young woman, who is a few months younger than you. Annabeth may never have admitted it to you, but you have the beauty of a god, so my blessing wouldn't help. What I can do for you is take away some of the scars you have." she told him.

"I know that my Greek aspect is not as forward with her deeper thoughts, but I wish you all the luck in life and I hope that my actions in it have not made you despise love altogether." The goddess took her hand from his cheek, leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"Goodbye, Percy."

* * *

 **Melinda May**

S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Melinda May was not usually someone who was distracted at work, but today, when she had gotten her assignment from Coulson, she couldn't help but reminisce about the past. She had just gotten back to S.H.I.E.L.D. after a long overdue vacation, but she wasn't any happier. Hydra cells were still around, Ward wasn't dead and worse of all, her attempts to mend her relationship with her ex-husband Andrew had not worked.

Never in her life did she feel this insecure about herself. She had opened up to him, only for him to tell her that it wouldn't work out. He was impersonal about it, after all of her attempts to put Bahrain behind her and her efforts to put S.H.I.E.L.D. on the back-burner. Worse of all, the little prick that was known as Lance Hunter decided to put himself before anyone else.

He had put Andrew Garner's life at risk when he tried to kill Ward. That had hurt. She had his back all this time and the Brit simply chose himself before worrying to think about Melinda's thoughts and not even worrying about endangering a civilian.

She wanted to kill that man, but Phil had stepped in just in time to prevent her from doing so, so she had gone to her room while Andrew was in the Medical Bay. And then Coulson had ordered her to New York and Bobbi to take over the hunt for Ward and Hydra.

She trusted the woman, but Bobbi Morse was also involved with Hunter, so she could think irrationally. But it didn't matter anyway, because Coulson instructed her to complete a solo black-ops mission in New York and based on what she knew about the energy spikes, it was more important to stop them than it was to worry about herself. Whatever was going on there had the energy capacity of a trans-dimensional wormhole, a literal rip in the fabric of reality which mean that nothing good could be happening.

* * *

Three hours after her quinjet took off, she landed on a warehouse's rooftop in Queens. On the flight, she had taken the chance to change into more traditional federal agent clothes. S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't care if you wore catsuits to work, but the FBI likely had a more strict dress code. That was why she instead decided to wear a white blouse, with a grey skirt and blazer. Pinned to her blazer was an FBI ID that Fitz had made. If for some reason someone went looking, Agent Melanie Montgomery would appear to be a regular FBI Agent tasked with investigating a potential security threat in New York.

As the ramp on the rear of the quinjet opened up, she walked out strapping a gun holster to her hip and pulled out an I.C.E.R. 9mm from the plane. The I.C.E.R. gun would be her non-lethal option for this mission, but she knew she had backup in the form of conventional weapons waiting for her. She put it in the hostler and made sure to hit a button on her smartwatch. Behind her, the ramp retracted back into the plane and it vanished from sight.

* * *

When she finally got back to solid ground, Melinda found 4 black unmarked SUVs nearby. The car closest to her opened its door to reveal the grinning face of Assistant Director Maria Hill. The woman got out and gave Melinda a hug.

When Maria released her, she spoke "Long time, no see, May?"

* * *

Working for Tony Stark seemed to have its perks. For one, he never asked Maria about why she needed him to authorize such a large amount of money. He also didn't ask why the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who followed Maria to Stark Industries were all needed. Maria informed her that it wasn't because Stark was overly generous or trusting, but rather too busy at the moment to care.

They were already close to the cemetery now and Maria had called ahead impersonating the Executive Director of the FBI's National Security Branch. That meant that they would have unfettered access to the cemetery, at least for a little while, until the real feds were made aware that an operation they had no idea about was taking place.

* * *

When they finally had reached Cavalry Cemetery, Melinda had gotten out of the car leading the convoy to show her credentials. She was let in an immediately following their entry, the gates were shut and locked.

She was walking around looking at the scene when Maria approached her. "I've heard about what happened with Hunter. Is that going to be an issue?" Hill asked in a soft tone.

"No, its fine. Let's just focus on this problem before dealing with Lance Hunter's mistakes." she told Maria.

The two women were walking around until they noticed a large imposing structure which reminded them of the Parthenon with the city's skyline overlooking it. Filled with curiosity, they went toward it only to see footprints in the muddy grass. Based on the size of the print, it was obviously male, and given the direction it was pointing in, the person had ran toward a waterway in the distance.

"Let's get GPS on these prints and trace their path." Hill told one of the agents following her. The agent scurried back to the convoy of SUVs to presumably get the equipment necessary. When the agent came back, he was holding a tablet which showed a plotted line on a map.

"Satellite imagery of the area shows that whoever made those prints just vanished at one point. The prints end farther out near the creek." the agent told them.

"That's not possible." Melinda concluded.

"Yes," Maria agreed. "Which is why, we are going to need the security tapes of this location and those following the path of this individual.

* * *

Half an hour later, when the tapes had finally been in their possession, Maria was the one to find who, not what they were looking for. The security tape has started out quite innocently, with just a young man, who looked about eighteen, walking out of the monument and towards one of the roads that snaked the property. It was then than a huge wolf made an appearance out of nowhere and leaped on the man. The man emerged unscathed and was yelling to someone. And then things got really weird, a huge storm formed around the man, and then—nothing.

"The security cameras were damaged, I assume?" Maria said.

"Yes, but we managed to get a view of this guy's face." an agent replied. The agent brought a tablet with the face of the young man on it. He had black hair and green eyes.

"Run facial recognition on him." May ordered. A few moments later, a file opened.

* * *

Given Name: Perseus Jackson Preferred Name: Percy Jackson  
Date of Birth: August 18, 1996  
Birthplace: Metropolitan Hospital, New York  
Residence: 1129 York Ave. New York, NY 10065 USA  
Mother: Sally Jackson Father: Unknown

Suspicious Activity:

4th Grade: Hit lever at Sea World Shark Pool causing overhead catwalk to fall into Shark Pool

5th Grade: Fired Historical War Cannon at School Bus

12th Grade: Missed school for 8 months. No Missing Persons Reports filed.

* * *

"That kid has one messed up life." Maria commented. Melinda nodded her head in agreement. If S.H.I.E.L.D. were still at full capacity, Percy Jackson would have definitely been on its radar.

"Let's go visit his house. Lenox Hill based on the address." Melinda told the Assistant Director. Maria nodded her head in agreement. The woman turned to an agent. "Wipe all the security footage from the last 48 hours. We were never here. Get some samples from where the kid was attacked. Send everything to the _Playground_." Maria ordered.

* * *

The Jackson/Blofis family lived in a middle class neighbourhood in Lenox Hill, close to the Queensboro Bridge. The apartment building that they lived in was made of an orange-brown brick and had balconies for every apartment. When they had arrived, only herself and Maria made their way up to the family's house. It was best to overwhelm a family when asking for the whereabouts of their son. They went up to the correct floor and knocked at the door.

Moments later, a man opened the door. He looked at them both in confusion. Melinda went to introduce herself and pulled out her badge, courtesy of Fitz. "I'm Agent Melanie Montgomery, FBI National Security Branch." she stated. "The woman behind me is my consultant on this case, Maria Hill—Liaison to Research and Development at Stark Industries." she said while pointing to Maria. Maria was a public figure ever since the government wanted her to testify at a hearing about Hydra's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D., so it was best to not lie about her—well at least not too much because she didn't really know if Maria did anything normal at Stark Industries. At this point, telling the truth that Maria was actually someone who helped Iron Man would have been disastrous.

The man's expression was one of anxiety now. He looked back into the apartment, as if debating whether to let them in. Then he finally asked "How may I help you?"

"Do you mind if we do this inside, sir. We want to ask you and Ms. Jackson a few questions." Melinda said.

The man opened the door wider and let them both inside. He closed the door and led them to the living room where a pregnant woman was sitting on a couch looking quite worried. He gestured for them both to sit down.

"I'm Paul Blofis." the man told them and then gestured to the woman beside him "This is my wife Sally Jackson-Blofis."

"I'm Agent Melanie Montgomery, FBI and this is my consultant Maria Hill, Stark Industries Research and Development." May told the woman. The woman's expression instantly changed. She was definitely right to tell Maria to come to their house. They knew something.

"I'm not sure I understand what we can help you with, Agent Montgomery. I'm an author and my husband is a teacher. I don't really know how we could help an FBI Agent and a Stark Industries employee." Sally told her.

"We're not here about anything bad. We're investigating the disappearance of your son, Percy. Normally, the police would have been doing this, but we noticed that there was no police report filed and your son has managed to pop up in one of our cases as a person of interest." Melinda told the woman.

The woman now looked scared. It wasn't obvious but to trained agents like Maria and herself, it wasn't hard to see. The woman across from her was a mother, so she would most likely lie for her son. She didn't expect anything to come from this meeting other than having a way to put surveillance on Percy Jackson.

"Person of interest?" Paul asked.

"Yes, someone who might have been witness to a crime or might have inadvertently been part of something. I'm afraid that is all I can disclose about this case. National Security and all." Melinda tried.

"Of course." Sally replied. "What do you want to know?"

"We just need to know why you didn't file a missing person's report when your son disappeared from school for 8 months." Maria told them.

"We didn't file one because we knew he was with family on the West Coast, in San Francisco." Sally told them. It was a lie, but not completely. The mother was confident about some parts of her statement, but she was nervous about others. Likely, the boy had been in San Francisco, but the parents never knew why.

"Alright. Well, if your son comes back home, call this number and we can arrange a meeting." Melinda told her giving her a fake FBI business card with a S.H.I.E.L.D. number on it.

"Thanks for-" she was saying when Maria's tablet beeped. She looked to her partner.

"We've got a hit. Empire State Building Lobby. He's walking out. Heading East on 33rd." Maria told her getting up. "Thanks for your time. We have to go now." Maria told the parents. With that, they made their way out of the apartment practically running, leaving behind two parents with extremely worried expressions on their faces, and it didn't take a spy to see it.

* * *

 **Percy Jackson**

Percy had been making his way home from Olympus when all hell broke loose. He figured that he could go home now. He had no more demigod stink on him. Monsters wouldn't come. The only problem he would have to deal with would have been his powers. But the Fates must have really hated him because they apparently wanted him to spend his life as a fugitive. On his way to the 33rd St. Subway, he was stopped by a cry.

"Freeze! FBI!" a woman's voice echoed on the street. He didn't look back to it. In fact, he ran faster than he ever could. He didn't care if this was for him or any other person, but he wasn't taking his chances. The authorities just loved to make him out to be some delinquent, but the FBI, he wasn't taking any chances. There was no way he would be spending time in a federal facility.

Unfortunately for him, he had turned a corner into an alley. It was a dead end. Damn it. If he hadn't been kidnapped by Hera, he would not have forgotten his way around New York. He was trapped. He turned around to see two women dressed professionally, one training a gun on him. This was bad.

"Don't make this harder on yourself, kid. Come quietly." the Asian woman told him. No way in hell, lady. He wasn't invulnerable anymore, but he was still fast. He made to rush them both and overwhelm them when it happened. She shot at him faster than he could move. He felt a sting on his chest. He looked down, to what he expected to be a bullet hole, only to see a blue mist sprayed on him and being rapidly absorbed by his body.

It was a toxin. He knew from his time in Tartarus what he had to do. He willed the toxin out and his chest steamed. It was no longer a danger. The women were shocked and he made to run again when the woman behind the Asian pulled out a gun and spoke.

"We tried to tranq you, but this one here is the real deal. Bullets. So do as my friend asked. Come in quietly."

He put his hands up. He wasn't taking any chances. The alley way was immediately blocked by a black SUV. The Asian woman pulled out a zip tie and fastened it around his hands. At least she let him put his hands up front—it would have been uncomfortable for them to be tied behind him. He was being pushed toward the car, when he felt a prick on his neck. He looked back to see the Asian woman's partner put a needle in his neck. He blacked out.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Rising Tides_**

 **Chapter Four – The Playground**

 **Percy Jackson**

Percy felt like it had been the hundredth time that he had been knocked out in the last few weeks. It was really starting to get old. When he finally came back around, he noticed that he was not in jail, or really anywhere in an FBI office, but rather an empty warehouse. That immediately rang alarm bells in his mind. Why would federal agents take him to a warehouse, not an office. He was sitting at a table, hands still zip-tied with chairs on the opposite side of the table.

He didn't like this. He knew he wasn't alone. He focused on the water around him. He could sense it in the pipes of the warehouse, the sewers that ran underground and in the bodies of people. He wasn't going to fight his way out of here. They were mortals, he couldn't hurt them, nor could he safely knock them out—all fifteen of them if his powers were functioning properly.

A door at the side of the warehouse opened, letting sunlight stream in. Based on the light's colour, he would guess that it was close to sunset. The two women from before walked in. They were speaking to one another quietly before they both sat down on the free chairs. The Asian woman from before reached across the table, pulling on his wrists before pulling out a knife. He immediately made to pull back his hands, but the woman simply grabbed the zip tie and cut it off. The woman next to her simply placed a tablet on the table, on it were various pieces of information about him.

"Percy Jackson, born at Metropolitan Hospital in New York on August 18, 1996. Mother: Sally Jackson, Father: Unknown. Lives in Lenox Hill, New York. Various disappearances and a penchant for getting in trouble." The woman spoke.

"But that's not what we're here for. I'm FBI Agent Melanie Montgomery. My partner here is a consultant who works at Stark Industries. The FBI would like to know about the time that you recently spent in Cavalry Cemetery." The Asian woman—rather Melanie—told him.

"I was visiting a grave. What else does anyone do at the cemetery." he replied.

"Yes, but not everyone has a large wolf attack them in the middle of New York and emerge unscathed with no wolf found. You mind explaining that." The Stark Industries woman asked him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, lady. I just wanted to visit my girlfriend's grave." he replied.

"Girlfriend? Ah, here we go. Annabeth Chase. Born July 23, 1996. Died recently due to a stabbing in Long Island. Buried at the Parthenon Mausoleum in Queens." Melanie told him.

He stayed silent. "Brothers: Bobby and Matthew. Parents: Frederick Chase and unknown mother. Goes to school in New York. Attends summer camp here too. Family lives in San Francisco. Wouldn't happen to have been there eight months ago, would you?" The Stark employee asked. He knew he shouldn't be getting riled up, but these people. They knew too much. And that whole thing with the FBI... he knew that woman didn't work there. She lied well, but Percy knew how to spot that. So, he went for the direct approach.

"Oh please. Save me the trouble. I know you're not FBI, Mel. So why don't you both just tell me what you want." he told them. 'Melanie' gave him a fake smile.

"I am an FBI Agent, Percy. If you wont cooperate, I guess that we'll just have to go to San Francisco to talk to Mr. Chase—you know, right after we exhume Annabeth's body to check if everything was done properly and all." She baited. That was when he snapped. The pipes in the warehouse burst and the water surrounded him, forming armour. He knew that Riptide would be useless against mortals, so he willed the water to form a sword of ice.

"Do not go near her grave. And do not go anywhere near her family." he threatened. He didn't care in that moment if he just revealed the existence of demigods to these people. They were talking about messing with his girlfriend's grave and bothering her grieving family. They had moved away from him and 'Melanie' had her gun out. If it was the same gun as before, with the same ammunition, it couldn't do anything to him.

"Every one on high-alert. Jackson fits the Index." the consultant yelled into her watch. He was slowly backing away from them, waving the sword of ice to repel them. He was surrounded and he had no idea how he was going to get out of this, at least not without killing.

"You don't have to run, kid. My employer knows how to deal with people with powers. We can help you. We're not the enemy." 'Melanie' said. He was still silent. Who were these people?

'Melanie' put her gun down on the floor. The woman next to her took a few steps back. "My name is Melinda. I work for an organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. We've always known about the existence of powered individuals. We don't know everything about them, but we know how to help contain them if they become problems. Are you going to be a problem, kid?"

"Look, Melinda, I don't want any trouble. Just let me go. There are so many things that go on that people have no clue about. I need you to let me go." he pleaded. He really didn't want to fight his way out of here. He told himself he didn't want to kill these people, regardless of the face they kidnapped him.

"I'm afraid that's not an option. Unless you want to take us all down, kid, you should just come with me. I can help you. S.H.I.E.L.D. can help you." The woman tried.

"Maria, get out. Let me talk to him." Melinda told the other woman. The woman faced Melinda and waited for a nod of confirmation to leave. After the door had closed behind Maria, Percy put his eyes back on the Asian woman.

"Look, I've had to deal with powered people before and it hasn't really gone well, so I don't really know what is the proper way to make one of you come in." she told him. "What I can say is that I am one of the good guys. We aren't trying to experiment on you. We aren't Hydra."

He still didn't relax. "Years ago, I had to deal with a powered person, just like you. She wasn't that nice. She was what we call an Inhuman. A girl who had long dormant Kree alien DNA in her body. That dormant DNA was activated by alien crystals and she gained the power to control minds with a single touch and the ability to sense emotion. Only problem was that the little girl was overwhelmed by all the emotions she could now sense and went mad." she explained.

"She started enslaving people and using them to kill. I was sent in with a team. When my team encountered her, they all tried to save her and ended up touching her. She controlled them and along with a bunch of other people. I had to kill all of those people. I had to kill a little girl. The only people that survived were my agents. I made sure to not harm them. The girl, after she died, I hugged her. She was in pain all this time and I had to kill her." she told him.

"Her name was Katya." She revealed.

"I need you to come in. I've had to kill children to protect humanity before. I don't want to do it ever again. Please, just come with me to S.H.I.E.L.D." The woman wasn't lying. He knew that. He waited a moment, contemplating his options before he released his control on the water and melted the sword.

"I'll come quietly. No restraints or knocking me out." Percy told the woman. He hoped that he wasn't making a mistake by agreeing to go with her.

* * *

 **Melinda May**

When the kid finally told her that he would come without problems, she let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding in. She had told him the story about her becoming the 'Cavalry'. She didn't tell many people that story. Most people she was close to didn't even know. It had changed her forever. She realized that she told him the story out of the fear of needing to kill him. She didn't think she had it in her. The first time caused her to self-destruct, she couldn't take a child's life away again.

She led the kid outside, herself going first, giving Maria a signal to make sure all the agents stood down. Percy followed close behind her and looked uneasy as he saw the amount of agents, all dressed in tactical gear, hold automatic weapons around him. She realized that she needed to comfort the kid somehow, but what should she do?

"It's gonna be okay, Percy. We won't hurt you. We can help." she tried. He didn't look any more at ease with that statement. She told him to wait right there and went to Maria who wore a sombre expression on her face.

"What do we know about his powers?" she asked her coworker.

"Nothing good. Look at this." she told her. She saw a tablet showing satellite imagery of the area, with an energy graph. Suddenly the graph spiked and it was only after a while that the energy levels went back down. She looked toward the anxious young man waiting about twenty feet away.

"He's the source of the power surges." Melinda concluded.

"He's definitely not an Inhuman. To be honest, I don't think he's just any kid with powers. He's giving off the same kind of energy as the Tesseract. He might not even be human. Maybe Asgardian?" Maria contemplated.

"I don't know, but this kid doesn't seem to want trouble. Whether he's Asgardian or an enhanced human, we have to help him. Based on the outbursts of energy and his ability to wield liquids, he knows about his powers, is skilled in using them but may not have total control over them." Melinda concluded.

* * *

When May made her way back to Percy, he was still looking anxious. She decided to just tell him the truth as to what was going on. At least part of it—she could leave out the bits about them noticing bursts of energy, at least until Coulson saw him. The truth had worked before, so it might again.

"Hi. I was beginning to think that you were ignoring me, ma'am." he joked.

"Melinda." she corrected automatically. She may have looked cold on the outside, but Melinda could not handle doing any wrong to any kid, no matter their age. Not after Katya.

"Okay. Melinda, what's going on?" he asked her.

"I'm going to be taking you to a safe place. We call it the _Playground_. Its our home base. From there, S.H.I.E.L.D. is run by one of my friends. His name is Phil. When you meet him, he'll tell you all about us and what we do." she told him.

He nodded. "Where exactly is the _Playground_?" Percy asked.

"Officially, classified. We even make sure to have our vehicle license plates to say different states just to make sure we can't be tracked. But given you're going to be staying with us for a while, you should know the base is actually in California, near the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was an old bunker from World War Two that became a S.H.I.E.L.D base." she told him.

"I don't know about going to California. It's far and my mom and stepdad are here." he told her.

"We know. Sally and Paul. Live in Lenox Hill. You have a sibling on the way." she told him. She knew he was going to be agitated about this so she put a hand up and said "We'll let you talk to them. I know that you don't know me or S.H.I.E.L.D., but officially, we don't exist, so I want you to say that you're going elsewhere. Tell them you've been recruited by the FBI to help them. Tell them that we've paid attention to how well you've been doing physically in school sports and we think that you might be a good agent." she told him.

"I can't lie to my mom." he told her simply.

"I know its hard. Trust me, I know. But its for the best. They won't get tangled up with any more of this craziness. They can live without fear of a person getting to you. Besides, I think that S.H.I.E.L.D. can help your parents. We can move them to a safer place, let them be free of problems." she told him.

"Here," she said grabbing a tablet from an agent and pulling up something. "This is a home that S.H.I.E.L.D. owns in New York. Its not in Lenox Hill but its really nice. Its in Greenwich Village on West 9th St. Its a five story townhouse. Four bedrooms. Four and half baths. Lots of space. Rooftop terrace." she told him.

"I really don't think we can afford this." Percy told her.

"Its not for you to buy. We already own it. Its for your parents if you decide to come with us. We'll take care of everything. You just say the word and we do it. No payments, or commitment to us. We foot the bills—groceries, municipal taxes, expenses, everything." she told him. S.H.I.E.L.D. did own the house, but she didn't know if Phil was going to be mad that she just promised an eighteen-year-old a luxury townhouse in New York. She'd have to get a word in with Phil before Percy spoke with him.

She could see his resolve breaking. Melinda could tell that this kid loved his family, especially his mom. She could tell that he didn't want to leave them, but he wanted them to have the best life possible. "No strings attached, right?" he asked.

"No strings attached. Just you come and learn to control your powers. We can figure it out from there." she told him.

"Alright. Just let me tell them myself." he told her.

"Let's go then. Its almost sundown. We have to leave tonight though. My boss expects me to wrap this up." she told him. Percy walked to one of the cars and got in the front passenger seat. Melinda followed and stopped to talk to Maria.

"Hey, I'm gonna need this car for a bit. I'll bring it back to Stark Tower, someday." she told her coworker. "By the way, any chance you can get me some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to help with moving?" she asked.

Maria wore a dumbfounded expression. "You're moving?"

"No, but the kid's parents are. I need them to be moved tomorrow. It's the S.H.I.E.L.D. employee retreat house on West 9th Street." she told Maria.

"You moved them into the Greenwich Village house? You realize that the Greenwich Village townhouse is one of the best properties S.H.I.E.L.D. owns in New York?" Maria asked.

"Well I had to promise him that S.H.I.E.L.D. would help his family. He's coming peacefully and nobody was hurt. It got the job done." she told her coworker before walking off.

"Yeah, but it cost us $25 million." Maria muttered, not that it was heard by the now gone May.

* * *

 **Percy Jackson**

Melinda drove in silence to his parent's home. He really hoped that he made the right decision. He had just promised to go cross-country to work on his powers and to show the mortals that he wasn't an enemy. The agent even gave his family a new house. One where his little sister could be raised in, in a place close to the park. She could have room to run around in. He hoped that his mother wouldn't put up a fight. She always wanted to be an independent woman.

When they got there, Percy took them both up to his apartment and knocked on the door. His mother opened the door with a relieved expression on her face.

"Oh Percy. You're back. I thought that they took you away." she told him.

"No mom. I'm fine. See, the FBI lady just wanted to talk and she even drove me here." he told her. Sally let them both into the apartment.

"I was so worried about you Agent Montgomery. I thought you wanted to hurt him." she told Melinda. Right, Melinda was supposed to be Agent Montgomery. They all sat down on in the living room.

"We won't be staying long, Ms. Jackson. The FBI wants to recruit your son to be one of our agents. We've been very impressed by his resistance to all of the terrible things that happened to him and how he managed to escape. He would be a great agent." Melinda told his mother.

"Percy, we need to discuss this." his mother told him. His mom had outright stopped telling him what to do but he could tell that she was conflicted about this.

"It's okay, mom. They can help me. And you can start over too. They offered me added incentive to go to their training grounds." he told his mother. "You can have more room for the baby and live in a nicer place."

"Percy, I told you, I don't need you to take care of me." his mother said.

"I know. I need you to do this for me. To accept this. It needs to happen." he told her. His mother immediately teared up. "Please, mom. Do it for me." He knew that she wouldn't deny him anything. She was the best woman in the entire world. She got up and hugged him tight.

"I love you, Percy." she told him.

"I know. I love you too." he replied. When they broke apart, he turned to Melinda. "Can you please give her the paperwork for the new house?" he asked.

Melinda pulled out the folder she had been carrying. In it were the papers which showed ownership of the house. It had been recently changed to show Sally Jackson-Blofis and Paul Blofis as the owners. The bills however, were sent to a S.H.I.E.L.D. expense account which would deal with them.

Percy saw his mother's face change into an expression of shock when she saw the paperwork. She had likely found out where she was going to be living. Percy hated to lie to his mom about where he was going, but he wanted her happy.

He hugged her one more time and said goodbye. "I love you mom. Don't worry, we can still talk." he told her. With the goodbye over, he left his home and embarked on a new adventure.

* * *

Melinda then drove him to a warehouse in Queens, where she asked him to climb stairs leading to the roof. He saw nothing there until suddenly a military-looking plane came into view. He turned back to Melinda, slight surprise on his face—after all, he had seen the same kind of disappearing act before.

"A quinjet. Standard S.H.I.E.L.D. troop/cargo carrier. Comes with cloaking." she told him.

A ramp opened on the back of the quinjet and inside, it looked like a military vehicle. Utilitarian in its design, it was highly functional with seats along the perimeter and a large space for cargo in the middle. The cockpit was an a glass filled area which he did not dare to touch. It was at this moment that he realized that he could fly without danger for the first time. Zeus promised to leave him be. To the gods, he was just a mortal.

"Ready to go?" Melinda asked.

"Yes." he replied taking one last look at the New York skyline.

* * *

For the first time in a long time, Percy didn't mind flying. He wasn't too comfortable with the idea and was still nervous, but he could fly without the risk of being shot at by lightning. He knew he was safe because he was almost three hours into his flight and there was no stormy weather or lightning. That meant that Zeus either didn't care or couldn't do anything about him being in his domain. Sweet.

As they approached the base that Melinda called the _Playground_ , Percy could see the landscape change. Hills dotted the landscape, covered in green forests. The Sierra Nevada range was beautiful. As they crossed into California, Percy saw the hills become gradually taller, until they rose to mountain peaks, all capped with snow. It looked beautiful from up here. It looked ethereal on a clear night. The moon was shining silver light onto the snow causing it to glow. The sky was clear, allowing the gentle light to wash upon the scene. They moved for another ten minutes, the landscape lowering as mountains once again became hills and valleys.

The quinjet began to slow, until it stopped midair. Turning to his left, he saw Melinda hit a few controls, and he suddenly heard a minuscule whir. He knew that it was the wing-mounted engines he'd seen. They began to descend slowly into a clearing below. Once they were at the height of the tallest trees, the ground below sank.

Patterns emerged. A large rectangular space opened up. As they descended into a well-lit hangar, he saw the massive retractable doors that hid the _Playground_ from the world. Melinda manoeuvred them into a landing bay, gradually slowing their descent, until they hit the ground gently. She began to hit all sorts of buttons, presumably shutting off the quinjet. Melinda got up and the ramp at the rear opened. He followed her, stepping out into the cavernous hangar, seeing people bustling about. Some were on forklifts lugging large metal crates around. Others were pushing what looked like missiles on specialized trolleys.

* * *

Percy had seen both Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter constantly practice and prepare for battle, but S.H.I.E.L.D. was different. They moved in sync, nothing out of place. He might have received some knowledge of military structure in Camp Jupiter, but it hadn't prepared him for this. The mortals had some truly amazing things. As they walked, Percy saw a massive futuristic plane. Its looked like nothing he had ever seen before. He saw vents on the underbelly for thrust, large turbofans mounted along its wings and a large ramp at its rear was deployed.

Melinda must have seen him gawking at it because she stopped at pointed to it. "That's the Zephyr One. It's our largest deployable aircraft. Still not as nice as a Helicarrier though. Those were the days." she told him.

"What's a Helicarrier?" he asked.

"Just imagine an aircraft carrier that flies. We don't use them anymore. After Hydra's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the organization going underground, both factions tried to fight for them. To my knowledge, both sides chose to destroy them rather than let the other get their hands on one." she recounted.

"They were the pinnacle of S.H.I.E.L.D. technology. They were fully functional mobile bases which held 2500 people comfortably. Whoever had them controlled the game. That's why Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. fought for them, and eventually destroyed them." she told him.

She led him across the hanger, to a wall that had a large yellow blast door. Next to it was a badge reader and Melinda pulled out hers before holding it to the reader. Her face flashed on the screen and the doors opened. He followed her through them and was in a long hallway.

"If you stay with us long enough, I'll have to talk to Coulson about issuing you a S.H.I.E.L.D. Lanyard." she told him.

As they walked down the hall, Melinda pointed out a few places. "That's the lab, across from it is the lounge. Right now, we're going upstairs to the Director's Office. Then we can get you settled into your quarters." she said. As they walked, numerous people started to stare at him. It was beginning to become unsettling. They finally got up a flight of stairs, turned a few corners and Melinda asked him to wait outside a door while she went to speak to the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

* * *

 **Melinda May**

When she entered Phil's office, she noticed that he had been fiddling with his hand. The thing still didn't fit right. When he heard her walk in, he went to his desk and sat down on his chair and gestured for her to sit.

"So, did you find out what the energy spikes were about?" he asked her.

Not wanting to delay, she got straight to the point. "Yes. They weren't due to alien technology or even the Tesseract. It was a person releasing that energy." she told him. His face changed into one of worry.

"A person?" he repeated. She nodded. "Yeah. I managed to convince him to come to the _Playground_ with me. He's waiting outside your office right now." she informed him.

"What do we know about him?" he asked.

"Percy Jackson. Age: 18. Born and resides in New York. A bit of a trouble maker. He has experience using his powers, can't seem to control them. He's definitely not Inhuman. I think he knows about where his powers come from. His mother's definitely human, so he might be half-Asgardian." she told him.

"Great, so a demigod." Phil commented. "Hopefully he isn't prone to Thor's temper tantrums. God, I really hope that this kid is not Thor's."

"I don't think so. He hasn't exhibited any behaviour like Thor. His powers seem to be completely different. Then again, I don't really know much about Asgardians. Odin, in mythology was regarded as God of War, Wisdom, Sovereignty, Magic, and the Dead. Thor, his son, is considered the God of Thunder, Lightning, Storms, Strength, Protection and Fertility. Their powers are different. Asgardian powers don't seem to be limited by genetics." she commented.

"Hmm." Coulson sounded. "May, I need to assist Morse, she says she has something about what happened to Dr. Garner. I'll take care of the kid. If he's staying, I'll have Daisy show him around and train him." he told her. "Send him in on your way."

She went to get up, but quickly remembered something. "Coulson, I had to promise him something in order to get him to come willingly. You might not like it. Before you say anything, keep in mind that the kid has highly unstable powers, similar to the energy produced by the Tesseract and lived in the most densely populated city in America." she warned.

"Go on." he urged.

"I had his family move into the Greenwich Village townhouse. I promised it to him in return for his cooperation." she admitted.

"You promised an unstable child a $25 million dollar house?" he asked calmly. She nodded.

"You know that I couldn't very well use lethal force. Not after Bahrain." she told him.

At this, Phil sighed. "Alright. I guess 25 million is not too much to contain a person with power similar to the cube."

When she came back outside, Percy still looked nervous. She really wished his meeting with Coulson would go well, she had promised that nothing bad would have happened. That was the stupidest thing she did though. What every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent knew was to never promise any outcome at all. The world changed every second. You never knew what could happen next. She really hoped that she wouldn't be breaking a promise.

"It's gonna be fine. Just talk to Coulson. Tell him everything. He's heard just about the weirdest things on earth, so whatever you're hiding can't be that bad and don't even try to say you aren't hiding anything. I'm a spy. I know when you're lying." she told him.

"Fine. I'll talk to him. No promises though." he said.

"Okay. I'm gonna be leaving on another mission soon. I won't be around. If you need anything, find Coulson or look for Daisy Johnson." she told him. With those words of advice, she turned a corner in the hall and went off to find Morse.

* * *

 **Phil Coulson**

Phil didn't really know what to expect from a person who held powers that were like the Tesseract. Maybe he just expected someone less damaged looking. The kid, Percy, was tall, probably around six-foot-one or six-foot-two and broad shouldered. He had long black hair that was untamed and had vibrant green eyes. He would have looked imposing if he hadn't looked so gaunt. His face had bags on them that weren't supposed to be on an eighteen-year-old and in his clothes, he could see that while the kid was strong, he didn't fill out his clothes. That either meant that they weren't his or that he lost a lot of weight.

Phil thought that it was the latter. A potential half-Asgardian would most likely be on the muscular side if Thor was anything to go by. The kid was confused when he walked in, he didn't know what to do so he just stood in front of Phil's desk.

"Hi, Director." the kid said awkwardly. "Melinda told me to come and see you. She said that you could help me." he told Phil. Melinda. So May trusted this kid.

"You can call me Phil. Have a seat Mr. Jackson." he instructed. The kid sat down. "It's Percy. Not Mr. Jackson." Percy told him quietly. Okay, progress. So now to get him talking.

"Agent May told me about how you were the one who was causing energy spikes in New York. She told me that you had powers, but not much else. So, enlighten me." he told Percy.

"Well, I can control water—in all its forms and cause storms." Percy told him. There was more to his powers than that. Phil could tell. So, he went fishing for information.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. knows that you aren't human. At least not fully. Melinda suspected that you weren't an Inhuman, but rather a demigod." he told Percy. Percy's facial expression changed to a nervous one immediately. So, he was a demigod. Both were quiet for a long while. Phil was still trying to process the fact that there were demigods around.

"We already know this much. You might as well fill me in on the details." Phil told Percy. No response. Alright, maybe he'd have to earn his trust, just like May had.

"Okay. I'll tell you this, only Agent May and I know about you being a demigod. It can stay that way. No one other than the two of us has to know. None of my agents will ask you about it if I order them not to. Just tell me about yourself." he negotiated. Percy's resolve seemed to crack. And bingo.

"Alright. Where do I begin?" Percy asked.

"Start from how you got to be alive." Phil instructed.

"So, my dad met my mom by accident actually. There's usually this magic that surrounds the godly world from the mortal one called the Mist. It's a creation of the Goddess of Magic—Hecate. She wove it around the world to make sure that the gods weren't bothered." Percy started.

"Hecate? A Greek goddess? Not Norse?" Phil asked.

"No, why?" Percy questioned.

"I just thought that you were like a friend of mine." Phil said.

"Okay. So anyway, there are some flaws to the Mist—sometimes, certain people can see through it. Those people are called clear sighted, because even magic can't deceive them. My mom was like that, so when my dad walked out of the ocean holding a trident and knocked my mom to the ground, she called him a quack and he was pissed. So he started arguing with her and eventually found out that she was clear sighted. That's how they fell in love. Eventually, I was born, but he couldn't stay with my mom. Gods aren't allowed to interfere with mortal business. For certain gods, you're not even allowed to have children, because they would have too much power. I happen to be one of them. So, my mom hid me for a long time. She put up with an abusive man in order to mask me from the world. When I turned twelve, I found out that my dad wasn't actually lost at sea, but a god." Percy explained.

"My dad's Poseidon—God of the Seas, Storms and Earthquakes. I have the same powers that he does. That about covers my life and the life of many demigods. We don't know our godly parents until we get to camp. Camp is the one safe place for us. Its a place where we can see other demigods and be taught about our culture. It's also the only safe place for us to hide from monsters." he told Phil.

"Monsters?" Phil questioned. Percy couldn't really be expecting him to believe that the boogie man was real now.

"Not what you think. Ancient Greek monsters straight from myth. Hydras and hellhounds. The bad stuff. They hunt us because of our scent. Monsters have hated the gods, but the gods are immortal beings who live on Olympus, demigods are much easier to get to and kill." Percy told him.

"Scent. So mythical monsters could lay siege to the base at any moment now?" Phil asked calmly. If Percy was telling the truth, this couldn't be good.

"No. I am a demigod, but don't carry the scent. I asked the gods to remove my scent as part of their gift to me." he told Phil.

"Gift?" Phil questioned.

"Gift. That's all for now. I told you a lot more than a regular mortal ought to know." Percy told him. Alright. That was fair.

"So, would you mind showing me what a demigod can do?" Phil asked.

"Sure." Percy replied. He raised his had toward Phil's desk. On it had been a bottle of water. The water burst from the bottle and wrapped around Percy's arm. It then went to his hand, where he solidified it into a knife made of ice.

"Cool." Phil said, used to seeing such displays. Phil let Percy go shortly after that. He got an agent to show Percy his quarters which he decided would be near Daisy's. If anything went wrong, their resident Inhuman could handle him. So Poseidon was Percy's dad. He'd have to do some research on that and keep an eye on the kid. The latter should be simple enough, he'd just have to see if Jemma would be up to the task of discretely monitoring Percy.

* * *

 **Percy Jackson**

A half-hour later, Percy had been shown to his quarters. It was nice. It consisted of a main room where there was a queen sized bed, a private bathroom which had a shower rather than a tub and a walk in closet. Pretty luxurious for a spy agency. He had been given a new set of clothes since he hadn't packed anything. It consisted of just a few black shirts with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the front, a few pairs of grey sweatpants and underwear in a sealed package. An agent told him that it was common to have those things around because S.H.I.E.L.D. was a spy agency, so he took them without a word.

After having taken a shower, he lay down on his bed and closed his eyes, feeling strangely peaceful in this foreign place. He into a deep sleep, and for once, he wasn't awoken by nightmares.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Rising Tides_**

 **Chapter Five – Two Faced**

 **Percy Jackson**

It had been one week since Percy had first met Director Coulson. In the time that he had spent at S.H.I.E.L.D., Percy had met a few people. There was Jemma Simmons, a brilliant British scientist who didn't seem too comfortable around him. She acted nervous when Percy had been nearby. There was a Leopold Fitz, a Scottish engineer who sometimes reminded Percy of Leo Valdez. In his mind, he could already imagine the two of them being friends.

Some other people he had met were an Inhuman agent named Daisy Johnson, who shared some powers with him, not that she knew that. Coulson had stayed true to his word. Nobody knew why he was here or knew anything about his powers. Like himself, Daisy could manipulate vibrations and cause Earthquakes. She was one of the people who actually tried to talk to him. She didn't seem to have anything against him, she didn't ask about his origins or anything. Daisy's partner was an imposing man who everyone called Mack, who was wary of him and showed it. Mack reminded him again of someone from his past, he acted like Charles Beckendorf with the difference being the trust issues. He noticed a pattern here. Everyone had trust issues and it showed.

Even Melinda, who revealed some parts of her life to Percy didn't really trust him with much. She was still gone on her mission. In their defence, Percy hadn't told anyone much.

In fact, in the one week he had been there, he had been trying to build muscle back up on his body after his stint in Tartarus. It was a long and trying process. He stayed most of the day in the gym with the small comfort that it was easier for him to work out than a mortal because he could refresh his energy with water. Even then, Percy pushed himself. He missed his family, but his mother, who was pregnant with Percy's sister, and his stepfather were safer with him in California.

In his time at S.H.I.E.L.D., he could tell that the people around him didn't wish him any harm. It was shortly after he had started working out that Percy saw what Venus had told him. Slowly, the worst of the physical scars from Tartarus were disappearing. He knew that she said that they weren't all going to be gone, but he hoped that the worse would fade to nothingness with time.

His routine was the same, day in and day out. Wake up at 5:30, brush his teeth, work out, shower, and eat breakfast. Then, Percy would use S.H.I.E.L.D.'s extensive digital library to read. It was the first time that he could really enjoy reading. Before, if something was not in Ancient Greek or Latin, he would have a hard time reading, but Athena's gift allowed him to discover new things. He was thinking about learning another language, now that he could.

He would then eat lunch before he would once again go to the gym, this time practising with Riptide. It was a good thing about people being wary of him was that they didn't bother him and didn't see him with Riptide. He made sure of that. He saw the security cameras in the room, but he doubted that the footage would be watched unless something had happened in the gym. By the time that it was dinner time, he would be in the shower, then eat dinner and then go to bed.

He spent his meals alone and tried to time them in such a way that he wouldn't be interacting with people. He didn't trust all of them yet. In fact, the few that he trusted here were Coulson, Melinda, Daisy and Fitz. He really didn't know what to make of the rest. His isolation only worked so long though. After one week, the Director had gotten enough of him being a hermit. Thus began a daily session of sitting in the Director's office exchanging information.

* * *

"Hydra is a splinter cell of the Nazis that was thought to have been defeated in World War Two. What actually happened was that they hid inside S.H.I.E.L.D. After the war, we were desperately trying to catch up to Hydra's level of technology. So, S.H.I.E.L.D. chose to hire them in something called Operation Paperclip." Phil had told him.

"Paperclip?" he questioned. He thought that it was a weird name.

"Paperclip. German scientist who would help advance American research by linking their ideas to American ones." Phil explained.

"So I'm guessing that making your enemies come to America didn't work out." Percy commented.

"No. Hydra grew inside S.H.I.E.L.D. By the time that we realized, it was too late. S.H.I.E.L.D. had become a massive international organization which policed the entire world. We were accountable to only the World Security Council, and they weren't much of a governing body. It was always my country wants this or my country wants that. S.H.I.E.L.D. had little supervision. It took Captain America and Black Widow to uncover this."

"So now you're underground." Percy concluded. It was one of many stories he had been told. In exchange, he was telling Coulson about his exploits.

* * *

In the few days they were talking, Percy had told him a revised version of events, leaving out some details. His quests, the Titan War, being kidnapped, the Seven, Tartarus and eventually about the Giant War and Battle for Camp Half-Blood. He left out a lot of detail. S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't know about Annabeth's death, or his friends. He kept locations generalized and hoped that the Mist would take care of the rest. Phil still didn't tell him some things, that he could tell.

* * *

 **Phil Coulson**

Phil was currently looking at a satellite view of Long Island. Percy had told him that there was a safe-haven for demigods on the island, but not a specific location. He scanned the area in infrared, microwave radiation and true colour but nothing had shown up. The Mist that Percy had been talking about worked. None of his equipment was detecting anything. Just a strawberry farm and cottages. The feed had been acting up though... Maybe he'd get Fitz on that.

The kid's isolation was worrying Phil though. He knew that it wasn't healthy for a kid to be completely isolated from social norms. He wanted to send in Dr. Garner, but Andrew was currently with Joey Gutierrez, evaluating the Inhuman for Daisy's Secret Warriors. Percy worked out in the gym constantly. He was building on muscle mass rapidly and didn't seem to be fazed by the amount of effort it involved.

Phil had an idea, but he didn't know if it was good. Originally, Percy had been brought here to be observed in a passive environment. Phil now thought that perhaps he could be recruited. He wouldn't be compatible with the Secret Warriors though and didn't seem to want to know more people within S.H.I.E.L.D. than he already knew.

So now, Phil was watching surveillance feeds of the gym in his office. He already knew about Percy fighting with a sword. That even he could see, whether Percy knew of the surveillance cameras were another story. The cameras... Those were highly advanced pieces of technology...

Walking back to his desk, he hit a button on his office phone connecting him to Simmons' quarters. "Jemma, I need you to use the gym surveillance cameras to get me energy readings on Percy. I need them up in my office now. Run every test possible using the data and collect as much as possible." he ordered.

If there was one thing that Phil knew, it was that he was potentially crossing a line. Percy was eighteen, but could he really be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?

* * *

 **Melinda May**

What she had found was shocking. Werner von Strucker told them that Andrew was Lash. The Inhuman who seemed to be hunting his own kind and who was her ex-husband. How could this have happened? It should have been impossible. Andrew didn't even have access to the Terrigen Crystals. He shouldn't have been able to change.

Andrew was an Inhuman, not only that, but Andrew murdered people. He had killed innocents. Andrew was supposed to have been her beacon of normality in a twisted life. She knew that Werner had been telling the truth. His eyes held pure terror when she talked to him.

Worse of all, Bobbi didn't know. They were both on Zephyr One, waiting to be dropped off at the _Playground_.

* * *

She wasted no time. As soon as they landed at the base, she went to work. First, she decided to check the flight records for Andrew's assigned quinjet. Those did not yield good results. His last flights would have placed him near Lash's victims. This was all circumstantial. She needed hard proof and she knew just how to get it.

She went to the lab to check on his medical file. She asked around until a lab technician handed her a tablet with the file preloaded. She scrolled through the file. Everything was normal until it reached the blood analysis section. It was blank. Someone had deleted it. She had to get to Andrew. She needed to talk to him.

She walked out of the lab and was making her way around the base to the hangar. She turned a corner and there he was. Percy. He looked healthier than before. The clothes on him no longer looked too baggy. He had put some muscle mass back on and she could tell from his sweaty form that he had been working out. He walked up to her. Damn it, not now.

"Melinda, hey." Percy greeted.

"I gotta go." she told him.

"Go where?" he asked.

"I need to talk to Dr. Garner." she told him.

"I heard that he was doing some evaluation. I think I heard someone say somewhere called the _Cocoon_." Percy told her.

"Thanks." she went to go when Percy had stopped her. He looked her up and down.

"Is everything okay, Melinda?" he asked.

"Yes. I just have to go. You can tell me about your meeting with Coulson later."

* * *

She learned from the hangar crews that Andrew's quinjet had only left an hour ago for the _Cocoon_. She would be an hour behind. He was supposed to be evaluating Joey Gutierrez for Daisy's team. She needed to get there in time. If he was indeed Lash, Andrew could be committing an act of murder right now.

As soon as her quinjet hit the ground, she got out as fast as she could. She went straight past the guards and told two of them to escort her. She hoped that she wasn't too late. When she burst into one of the evaluation rooms, Andrew had been speaking to Joey.

"Melinda, what's going on?" Andrew asked her. She ignored him, turning to the two agents. "Take Mr. Gutierrez to a safe place." she ordered.

"We're in the middle of a session." Andrew told her.

"Not anymore." she said firmly. The two agents grabbed Joey and escorted him outside, leaving just herself and Andrew in the room.

"Melinda, talk to me. What's all this about?" Andrew questioned.

"I need to know... for myself. Before anyone else gets involved." she told him.

"Know what?" Andrew questioned. Something was off about his tone.

"I saw your flight logs. I tracked your movements. You were within 30 miles of at least five Inhuman deaths." she told him.

"Why were you looking at my flight logs?" he asked her.

"I pulled your medical files too." she told him. He turned exasperatedly from her. "Your blood work was deleted." she said. She walked ahead of him to face him.

"Maybe Simmons acciden—" he tried before she interrupted him. She was getting more and more frustrated at his tone. "You thought that you covered your tracks, but you didn't." she revealed.

"Melinda, honestly, what are you getting at?" he asked her.

"Baron von Strucker's kid was alive." she told him. His face changed immediately. "He didn't die in that blast." she told him starting to pace.

"I tracked him down. He told me what you did." she said, voice trembling.

"What I did? So some kid says—" he tried to deflect. She could see his frustration growing. Well so was hers. She wanted answers. Her day wasn't going to get any better so she would get them. In the span of a month, she had to deal with Inhumans, a suspected demigod child and now apparently a lying ex-husband.

"He wasn't lying. The look on his face... it was pure terror." she told him, her voice breaking. "What happened to you? You can tell me." she told him. She got closer. This was the man she still loved after all these years.

"Melinda."

"Don't lie to me." she warned.

"You don't wanna know." he told her walking to the other side of the room.

"He said that you were a monster. How could this even happen?" she asked. At this point, she had too many emotions bottled up to let him speak.

"Melinda, stop." he gritted.

"Andrew, please." she pleaded.

"Stop!" he screamed, turning sharply, gun cocked and fired. An I.C.E.R. round barrelled straight at her and hit true. She fainted from the Dendrotoxin-laced round.

* * *

When she had come back around, Melinda was somewhere else entirely. She felt handcuffs around her, attached to a large and heavy steel tank. She still felt a bit drowsy. She looked around but failed to recognize the room.

Andrew came from another hallway, into the room. She tried to sit up. "Thank God you're awake. I am so sorry. I didn't want to hurt you." he told her helping her up. She pushed back against him. He put his hands up showing that he wouldn't touch her.

"I panicked." he tried to explain.

"Where are we?" she asked, ignoring his excuse.

"We couldn't stay there. Not with S.H.I.E.L.D. I needed time to explain." Andrew told her starting to pace around the room. He was clearly agitated.

"You don't know how many times I almost told you. I didn't know how." he told her. "I didn't ask for this."

"Oh God." she choked out. "What have you done?" She tried to pull on herself free from the steel tank. "Let! Me! Go!" she shouted at him.

"Don't do that! I don't know what I'll do." he said. He came closer. "Instinct will take over again, like it did at the convenience store."

"Instinct." Melinda repeated disgusted. Instinct wasn't killing people. Instinct would have been fleeing, not murder.

"Look I never wanted to hurt anyone. I didn't know what was happening." he tried to explain.

But Melinda wasn't having any of it. She couldn't believe anything he said. She bared her soul to him and he was a lying murderer. "You killed those people." she cried out softly. "How? When did this—"

"After Hawaii." Andrew recounted. "Daisy's mom kept records. I was going through them for any insight. For research. And I found a book. It had all these names of Inhumans. Jiaying must have rigged it with Terrigen Crystals to keep out anyone who didn't survive the mist."

"Lucky me." he said sarcastically. "At first, I was relieved. I survived but I knew that something had happened. I felt sick, nauseous. There was an intense pulsing, like my heart was in my head. I felt different. Like a part of me was unlocked."

"Unlocked?" she said disgusted. The man chose to describe his urge for murder as being a long lost part of him.

"I had to be near them." he said agitated.

"The Inhumans?" she asked. She stood up from her position on the floor.

"I had a desire. I had hunger. It wasn't until I was with one that it happened. I lashed out and then I felt relief. You wouldn't have understood. I had to keep you away." he explained. "I didn't end things with you because I don't love you. I did it to protect you. I'm still in love with you Melinda." he told her. She looked up toward his face. "And I need your help."

* * *

 **Percy Jackson**

Percy was reading in his quarters when Phil Coulson had shown up at his door. When he opened the door, Coulson handed him a S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical uniform. He looked up to the Director confused.

"I have to go to NORAD. You aren't staying here unsupervised, so you're coming. Wear this and stay quiet. I have to trick the U.S. Government into agreeing to partner with S.H.I.E.L.D." Coulson told him and turned to leave.

"Zephyr One takes off in twenty minutes. Don't be late." Phil warned. With that, Percy was left alone in his room with a tactical uniform and a funny expression on his face.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Percy was strapping into his seat in Zephyr One's row of seats. The uniform fit him well actually. It consisted of a pair of black cargo pants, black T-shirt and black tactical vest. The vest was empty of all embellishments, but he bet that he still looked fearsome. Besides, his weapon of choice was in his pocket.

Taking off was one of the most amazing moments in Percy's life. The plane from the outside looked like it weighed thousands of tonnes, but it took off gently, like a bird. It rose vertically from the hangar, through the cockpit window, he could see that they were changing direction and flew off.

He had been filled in by Daisy on what was happening. Apparently something called the ATCU was competing with S.H.I.E.L.D. to contain the Inhumans. Coulson wanted to make peace with the ATCU and work together to contain powered people. Soon after they had picked up the head of the ATCU, a woman named Rosalind Price, things went bad.

"Ma'am, a quinjet is requesting permission to dock." an agent told Daisy.

"Get up. You go to the bridge. I'll find Coulson." she told him. "Let the quinjet dock. Station guards outside the docking arm's hatch." she instructed the agent.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the Director and Rosalind joined everyone on the bridge, followed by Daisy. From where Percy was leaning against the steel fuselage of the plane, he could see people coming from the hallway. Daisy rushed forward upon seeing them.

"Lincoln, what are you doing here?" she asked seeing a blond man and Mack.

"Where did you find him?" Coulson asked Mack. "He found me. He's got intel on Lash." he answered.

Lincoln pointed towards Rosalind. "Is she with the ATCU?" he asked. Coulson stepped forward.

"We're working together now." Phil told Lincoln. "And we all wanna catch that thing." Rosalind added.

He seemed to consider whether to tell them what he knew. "Those of us from Afterlife, we were trained to blend in. And yet that thing keeps finding us." he told them.

"Lincoln gave me names, which I matched to the identifiable victims." Mack added.

"That's how I knew Lash was using Jiaying's ledger, a book containing a list of all the Inhumans who ever came to Afterlife. She was the only one to ever have it until S.H.I.E.L.D. came and recovered it." Lincoln told Coulson.

"And there's only one person at S.H.I.E.L.D. who had access to Jiaying's files." Mack told him.

"Dr. Garner? There's no way. It's not possible..." Phil said.

Dr. Garner... Percy knew that name... Of course, it was the person that Melinda had been going to see. He rushed forward to the group, ignoring Coulson's order to not say anything. "I talked with Melinda today, she said that she had to go see Dr. Garner." Percy told the Director. "Is she in trouble?" he asked.

"Crap. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the President will have to wait." Phil said.

"Turn the plane East! Get us to New York!" Phil shouted to the bridge crew. Immediately people were scurrying around, getting the plane ready to go to New York. Looks like Percy was going to be going home.

"Coulson, I asked you. What's going on?" Percy insisted. This was getting out of hand. Melinda trusted him before and told him the truth. She promised not to bring him to a prison and she kept her end of the deal. She got his parents a new beginning in a better place. He owed her.

* * *

With the advanced technology of Zephyr One, they were in New York in two hours flat. Everyone was getting ready to go. The ATCU men were moving a containment module for transport. The quinjet was being deployed.

"Phil, I'm coming with you to get Melinda back. I can help. You know I can." Percy pleaded.

"Fine. There's no time for this. Grab a gun and let's go." Phil told him. He ran back to the rack of weapons that he had seen picking up a handgun. He wasn't even gonna try to shoot an assault rifle until he knew how.

* * *

 **Melinda May**

"Andrew, if I hadn't show up, were you going to hurt Joey?" Melinda asked. Her ex-husband turned toward her.

"No, of course not, Melinda." he told her. "And you know I'd never hurt Daisy."

"But you went after Lincoln." she stated. Why go after someone who he knew had ties with S.H.I.E.L.D.?

"That kid has a dark side. You understand more than anyone. Look at what happened in Bahrain." Andrew told her.

"What?" she asked confused. Why would he be bringing up Bahrain? That was one of the worst times in her life. She still remembered the girl's face.

"You saw first hand what Inhumans were capable of." he continued. "If you hadn't killed that little girl, everyone around you would have suffered. You saved them." he told her.

"I know you think I've lost myself. I haven't."

"I don't know what to do." she admitted. She loved this man but he had changed. Becoming Inhuman had changed him.

"I know." he replied. "Do you remember our first apartment?"

"The one on Crenbrooke?" she asked.

"One room, a stupid futon for a bed and that winter when it got so cold that—" he told her.

"We used the oven as our heater." she finished for him.

* * *

"Sorry to interrupt." Melinda heard. It was Phil, he was here. Andrew let out a growl. Phil came closer, his hands in the air as a sign of peace.

"This doesn't have to go down badly. I'll make sure that you're taken care of." Phil told Andrew.

"I understand the position you're in, I do. And its not one I envy. But I'm trying to help you. You've got an outbreak on your hands." Andrew replied.

"I'm simply trying to sort the good from the bad. Just like you asked me to." Andrew told Phil.

"That's a pretty poor interpretation of my orders." Phil commented. "Look around you. We're in an abandoned building, May's tied up. You're not alright."

Everything after went to shit the moment that Lincoln Campbell picked a fight.

* * *

 **Percy Jackson**

Percy had been following Daisy for most of this rescue mission. She had taught him how to load the gun and aim it and had given him an earpiece. That was about all the training he had for a situation like this. Nothing in the godly world had prepared him for what he was about to do. Right now, they were making their way up to where Melinda was. Phil was already there, trying to convince Dr. Garner to give himself up and let Melinda leave.

"I could really use a little help here." Percy heard Mack say.

"What's your twenty?" Daisy replied. Gods, he really needed to understand what they were saying. He was starting to wonder if he should just use his powers. No, Phil told him not to cause a scene in front of U.S. Government officials which Rosalind Price worked for which probably meant Phil wouldn't appreciate him derailing this mission.

"We got him." Rosalind said over the comms.

Shit. This wasn't good. They needed to make sure that he was alive. "We need to get to Rosalind." Daisy told him. At this point, they were navigating the building trying to get on the correct level. After trying a few halls, it failed.

"The lobby. We can see every floor from there." Percy suggested. Daisy nodded. They both went back down the stairs, going into the empty lobby.

He heard a choking noise. He looked up to see Rosalind being choked by a monster in the hallways which overlooked the lobby. The beast then threw her over the edge of the railing down six stories. He could hear Rosalind scream and Phil cry out but he wasn't paying attention. He concentrated and pipes burst from the building. Water rose up to gently catch Rosalind before setting her on the ground.

He and Daisy ran to where he set her down. He crouched down and pulled her up. She looked up at him in amazement.

"Thank you." she told him. Percy could hear footsteps coming and pulled out the gun he had on him. It was Phil.

"You okay?" Phil asked Rosalind.

"Yeah." she replied.

Turning toward Percy, he told him. "Wow. That was something."

"Thanks." he replied. "But we need to find Melinda and get that monster away from her."

"Aren't we going to discuss the fact that he's an Inhuman?" Daisy asked.

Raising a hand, he stopped her from speaking further. "I'm not an Inhuman. It's a long story. We'll get to it when Melinda is safe." he promised.

"Do we have a location?" Coulson asked Daisy.

"Not yet." she answered. "Anyone got Lash?" she asked into the comms.

"I'm drawing him to the front exit. May's following." Lincoln spoke into the comms.

"Let's go." Percy told them.

* * *

"Andrew, stop!" Melinda cried. They were hidden behind a wall. Phil had ordered that nobody was to move closer. They had to let it play out. Percy had a bad feeling about this.

"Move." the creature told her.

"Go on, might as well. I've thought about my death enough times. The different ways that I could go. I just never thought that it'd be you." Melinda told Andrew. So this was Dr. Andrew Garner. From where he was, Percy could see that the beast was hideous. He caught the side of the creature's face—it looked like half man, half animal. It's skin was a grey-blue colour.

"I never knew why you married me. I was never as kind or as empathetic as you." Melinda told the monster that was Andrew. He never knew that Melinda was married.

"That's why it was so easy for me to walk away. Why I gave up on you." Melinda soothed. So they were divorced it would seem. Dr. Garner began to shift back into a human and he could see that there was indeed a human behind this monster.

"I lost something when I left you. I won't do it again. But you have to stop this." she told Andrew. The man was reaching for her. He was alert, ready to use his powers once more. That was when Melinda pulled out her gun and began to shoot Andrew repeatedly. Bang, bang, bang, bang. Four shots was all it took. Each one repelling the man farther and farther away from her. The man stumbled backward, breaking through the glass of the front exit, Melinda following shooting her gun again. Eventually, the man was inside the containment module.

Melinda peered in, only to recoil in fear of what her ex-husband had become. An aerosol sedative sprayed itself inside the chamber, causing the monster to phase back to man. He stayed back while Phil went closer.

"How did you know that wouldn't kill him?" Phil asked.

"I didn't." Melinda answered, her voice a wreck.

* * *

When they were finally back on Zephyr One, Percy was giving Melinda space. He thought back to Annabeth's death at the hands of Gaea. He knew that she needed to grieve for her lost lover. The only problem was that while Annabeth was safe in death, Dr. Garner would remain alive, for the rest of his natural life, as a monster.

"If we put Andrew in stasis as a human, it'll slow his transformation. Giving us more time to find a cure." He heard Rosalind say. "Now I can't pretend to know what you're feeling, but for what its worth, if I had the chance to save someone I loved, I'd take it." she consoled.

Melinda turned toward Daisy. "What would you do?" Melinda asked.

"Well, its a temporary solution, I think we can all acknowledge that, but Andrew helped me, so I'd do whatever it takes." Daisy replied.

"Do it." Melinda said in an emotionless voice before walking away. Percy knew not to follow her. She would need her time and he would grant her it. So he just put back the gun he took, luckily not having used it and strapped in for the ride back home. Home. He was beginning to consider the base home. Percy didn't know if that comforted him or scared him.

* * *

A few hours later, it was _Playground_ sweet _Playground_. As Zephyr One descended into its designated landing bay, we unstrapped himself and went down to the rear ramp. He got off and waited for someone to let him in with their S.H.I.E.L.D. Lanyard. He then saw Melinda, walked to her quarters. He followed after her. When he knew where her quarters were, he noted the room number and the directions there in his head before he headed back to his.

He would give her a few hours to decompress before he'd go talk to her. Melinda might not have met him long, but once Percy found friends, he latched on. It was his fatal flaw. His loyalty. He was learning to let go, but it was hard. Annabeth's death was the worse, but he was letting go. Slowly. He went to shower after the long ordeal, then he stopped by the mess hall for some food. The great thing about S.H.I.E.L.D. was that they had enough food to appease his demigod appetite.

After this, he figured that Melinda had gotten enough time alone. She needed help. He sure knows that he would have appreciated it. He still remembered the way that his mother told him that it was going to be okay. He figured that Melinda needed this too.

He knocked at her door. Nobody answered. So he kept on knocking, until Melinda opened the door. He could see her face harden into a mask.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"Now's not a good time, Percy. Please just leave me be." she told him.

"No. You need help." he told her, pushing past her into her quarters. He knew that had she been at full strength, he would be kissing the ground right about now. But he'd done his fair share of daring acts in his life and this likely didn't top the list.

"Fine." she told him. She went to sit on her bed. He sat down next to her.

"You know, I never did manage to tell you. You were right. I am a demigod." he admitted. She turned toward him, face still expressionless. "I told Coulson already. No one else knows... I didn't tell him everything though."

"When you were looking for me, you used Annabeth to cause me to show my powers. The official story is that she died in a stabbing in Long Island. The actual story is that she was a demigod too. We both fought in order not to die. We fought Gaea, the primeval Goddess of the Earth. She didn't make it. She got stabbed straight through the abdomen." he recounted.

"You know the worse part of it? I'm a Son of Poseidon, that makes Gaea my great-grandmother. My great-grandmother killed my girlfriend." he told her. It was quiet in her room for a moment. Then, she spoke.

"I loved Andrew." she told him. "I might have been the one who left the first time, but I loved him. He's gone. He isn't even dead. He's a completely different person in the body of the man I love." she told him, tears streaming down her face.

"I know. Death would have been a blessing. You wouldn't have to see the destruction of his memory." he told her. He shifted closer and placed a hand on her back.

"I'm gonna hug you now, okay? Don't kill me." he told her. Leaning closer, he pulled her in and let her cry. It had been a tough day for her. He heard other agents talk about this Ice Queen but he knew that everyone had emotions. Everyone needed a minute to let go at some point. He got his. He would help her. Tomorrow, he knew that he would have to face S.H.I.E.L.D. and reveal himself to everyone, but today, he comforted the first friend that he made here.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Rising Tides_**

 **Chapter Six – Revelations**

 **Percy Jackson**

In his time at S.H.I.E.L.D., Percy had heard people call Melinda the Ice Queen and an enigma, but to Percy, he understood. Most people had not experienced loss on extreme levels and had never needed to deal with the emotional turmoil that came with it. He also understood that while he chose to express his emotions to the world, Melinda preferred to deal with it on her own. Still Percy saw the difference between shutting down emotionally and having space. After Annabeth's death, he had kept himself locked in a room for a week. The only reason he didn't starve to death was his demigod physiology.

One month had already passed since Annabeth's death and the emotional wound was still there, but it was getting better. Starting anew helped with that. Here at the Playground, there weren't any reminders of her. After he had comforted her, Percy left for his quarters. He passed by a clock on the wall. 11:43 PM. He decided that he would go to bed. There was an anxiety though. Tomorrow was the day that he would come clean to the rest of Coulson's team. Everyone would know and Percy wasn't sure how he felt about that. So far, only Phil Coulson and Melinda May knew about him. How does one even explain to a bunch of spies that the kid that had been staying at the base for the last few weeks was not a full human but a demigod? Well, if they could handle the fact that Inhumans existed, Percy supposed that demigods wouldn't be too far of a stretch.

* * *

Percy ended up waking up even earlier the next day. The alarm clock on the nightstand read 4:30 AM. Normally he would have just tried to go back to sleep but Percy knew that he wouldn't be able to, so he settled for brushing his teeth and getting ready for his morning workout. At least he could get that in before having to face the agents.

* * *

A few hours later, Percy was freshly showered and was heading to the mess hall. If Percy had to guess, he would say that it was probably around 7:30. He had grabbed himself a bowl of oatmeal, sweetened by milk and topped with freshly cut fruits. He also grabbed a cup of coffee for himself. The beauty of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s 24 hour kitchens.

He had been finishing the last of his coffee when Daisy walked in, followed by Lincoln. The Inhuman had decided to stay after his participation in the mission that led to the capture of Lash—Andrew's Inhuman alter-ego.

Daisy and Lincoln sat down across from him on the long table. From what Percy had pieced together, Lincoln was the cause of the chaos last night while Phil had tried to get Dr. Garner to come quietly. Percy didn't trust him. How could the man think that he could go do whatever he wanted? Melinda had been in danger and if things had gone differently, she could have been injured.

"So, are we gonna talk about what happened yesterday?" Daisy questioned. "You said that you weren't Inhuman but both you and I know what happened back there. You were able to move water."

"Not now, Daisy." Percy told her. He was a bit pissed off to be honest. Melinda had been very trusting of him since they both talked in the warehouse in Queens and the man sitting next to Daisy had been so reckless that Melinda could have been hurt.

"No. Now is when you're gonna talk about this. You said that you would explain." Daisy told him forcefully.

"We aren't having this conversation right now, Agent Johnson. Not in front of him." Percy told her, his tone harsh.

At this, Lincoln had the audacity to look insulted. "What?" the Inhuman asked him.

"You both heard me. Have a nice breakfast, Agent Johnson." he told her, completely ignoring Campbell. As he left the mess hall, he grabbed a mug filled with coffee and some pastries. He headed to Melinda's room. As he was walking through the hallways, he spotted her.

"Hey, Melinda." he greeted. She looked better than last night. She was processing Dr. Garner's capture well enough it would seem. "I brought you breakfast." he said holding up the plate and mug.

"Hi Percy. Thanks for the breakfast. This way, we can go to the lounge." she told him. She started walking at a leisurely pace twisting through the corridors of the _Playground_ until they were right below the Director's Office.

Walking up to one of the chairs that surrounded the large table in the lounge, Melinda sat down and Percy placed the plate and mug in front of her. He grabbed a seat on one of the couches. Percy still felt a bit weird around the base. He was still wearing S.H.I.E.L.D. issued clothing which basically consisted of gym clothes. He really needed to ask if there was anything else he could wear or if he could have some things brought over from New York.

Melinda was eating her breakfast when she asked him "How do plan on telling everyone?"

"I don't know." he admitted. "I guess I just have Coulson call the rest of your team in here and I rip the bandage off, right?"

"I can't answer that, Percy. It's not my secret." she replied, going back to her breakfast.

"You know, these surveillance screens in here rotate through all of the feeds in the base. I walked by when you were arguing with Lincoln and Daisy." she told him. He didn't say anything. Did she want him to explain? He didn't know what to say.

"You will have to apologize to the both of them, you know?" she explained.

"What?" he asked, shocked.

"You will need to apologize." she repeated. "S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't do revenge. I don't want you to be the cause of trouble. Not on my behalf, not for anyone." she told him.

He couldn't really believe that she was saying that. The man had put her life in danger. The least that Percy could get away with was making him squirm. Then he realized his train of thought. This was Melinda's loss—he couldn't do anything about it. He had to let her deal with it, providing support when necessary. "Alright. I will apologize... later." he told her.

She nodded and finished her cup of coffee.

* * *

Half an hour later, Coulson came inside the room, gathered around him his team. He saw people he recognized—Mack, Daisy, Simmons, Fitz and even Lincoln. There were others, a tall blonde woman staying close to a dark haired man, slightly shorter than her. The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. came up to him.

"You ready?" he asked. Percy got up and nodded. Percy came up to the head of the table, while the others simply stood on the other side of the table.

"Hi... so a lot of you have seen me around the base." he started. "My name's Percy. I don't really know a lot of you." he told them a bit nervously. He calmed himself. Never show fear, that's what the Romans taught him. So he followed their advice. His face hardened.

"I'm sure that by now everyone's heard about what happened yesterday." he said. "I have powers, but I am not an Inhuman."

"I am a half-human, half-god. A demigod." he said. He didn't wait for the questions or anything. He just concentrated on the ground below him, causing it to shake. Lights were flickering as he did this. He didn't release his hold over the earth, raising a hand causing water to rush from the sink's tap. It weaved its way around the room, passing between the agents who were looking at him with eyes widened. It came to his hand forming a shield of ice. With his other hand, he reached in his pocket, grabbing Riptide and uncapping it, the sword elongating to its full three foot length. He twisted it a few times, relishing in the fact that he could have his trusty sword out.

* * *

As soon as Percy released his hold over the earthquake and lowered his sword, there was uproar. Everyone just started to put in their two cents about him. He just went back to sitting, ignoring them. Really, this was their reaction. He would have assumed that they would have reacted better given that they had Inhumans running around the _Playground_.

"Quiet!" The Director shouted over the noise. "Mr. Jackson did not inform anyone of who he was because it was under my orders." Phil told them. That was kind of a lie. "If you have any problems with that, come by my office."

That made them all quiet. "Now," the Director said. "I would like to inform all of you about a new objective for today." he told them.

"Today, we're launching _Operation Spotlight_. The objective... to peer into every shadowy corner of the ATCU." he revealed.

"The last few days have been hard. What happened to Dr. Garner is tragic... But, it has also created a rare opportunity for us. Last night, the ATCU picked up the Containment Module housing Dr. Garner." he said.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. will be using it as a means to gain access." he told them. "Going in on the ground will be Hunter and Bobbi, quarterbacking from Zephyr One will be Daisy and Mack, handling Extraction will be May—" he assigned before he was interrupted.

"I'll take him." May told the Director pointing to Lincoln.

"Okay. I guess our new guy will get a look at our operations with Agent May. Percy, you will be shadowing Rosalind and I." he said.

"Let me be clear. I want to know everything about the ATCU. How close they are to this cure they've been working on. Who they are holding and since when were they there. And finally, what the ATCU actually wants with Inhumans." he told them.

* * *

When Coulson said shadowing, Percy didn't know that he actually meant go put on tactical gear and look menacing in the shadows. Well here he was, decked out once more in black, this time with weapons adorning him. All I.C.E.R.s Coulson promised. He was waiting at the landing bay for a quinjet when it descended into view. Slowly, it descended, Coulson walking ever closer to the plane. When the rear doors opened, he stepped onto the ramp, grabbing Rosalind Price's hand and leading her out.

"Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D." Coulson greeted. The woman had an awestruck expression on her face. She looked out at the various levels of the hangar, the overhead cranes loading and unloading equipment and supplies.

"Not exactly running things out of your mom's basement, are we?" Rosalind teased. "Did you give it a slick code name?" she asked following as Coulson led her to the blast doors.

"Classified. But to me, its home." he teased back.

"That's cute." she replied. "Almost as cute as flying me in circles for six hours on a plane. I don't know if I'm in Albuquerque or Albania."

"Imagine the possibilities. And be flattered. I waived our usual blindfold protocol." he fired back.

This was awkward. They were flirting and he was tasked with following them at a reasonable distance behind. This was how his day was going to go. Gods.

"Oh, they'll say you're going soft, Director." she said. "Then again, you completely disabled my phone for the ride. I couldn't even check my fantasy football scores."

They were now at the doors to the compound. Coulson gestured an agent over. "Such cruelty." Coulson commented with a grin. "We can reactivate the phone, but we'll need to sweep for wireless worms first." He told her, putting his good hand out for her phone.

"Go for it, cowboy." she said.

The agent scanned Rosalind's phone and nodded back that it was safe. Coulson handed her the phone back and nodded to Percy.

Turning back to Rosalind, he spoke "You left your intelligence gathering phone back at your apartment, didn't you?"

"I almost didn't," she deadpanned placing her phone back in her purse. "But I thought it might be rude."

"Please, we expect nothing less." he told her. Rosalind stopped in her tracks. Turning to Coulson, she gestured to Percy. "Not to be rude, but while I appreciate the fact that your agent saved my life yesterday, but will your lapdog be following us around all day?" she asked.

At that comment, Percy decided that he should channel his inner Roman. Show no emotion.

"Percy here will be escorting you around the base, even while you're with someone else." Coulson told her.

"Really. Coulson, you think that this kid, no matter the powers he has, can take me?" she asked teasingly.

"Of course, darling."

* * *

They were making their way to the lab when it would seem that _Operation Spotlight_ had made a breakthrough.

"We've had some major breakthroughs here. Advances in alien biology, robotics," Coulson said. "Prosthetics." he added showing his left hand.

"Cuts a hell of a silhouette." she commented on his prosthetic.

"Well, they've mostly got it right." Coulson said before Rosalind's phone rang. Pulling out her phone, Rosalind looked a bit surprised.

"So you did reactivate it." she commented seeing Phil give her a teasing smile in return. Gods he really wanted to be out of here. He was third-wheeling whatever was going on between the Director and Rosalind Price.

"Hello IT Department that only calls me when there's a problem." Rosalind greeted after looking at the Caller ID. "What's the problem?"

"Have you found the cause?" Percy heard her say.

"Dearest, is it possible that your Containment Module would try to access the ATCU's systems?" she asked.

"Absolutely. It scans any local networks it finds. All of our hardware does." Phil admitted. Ah, so there was going to be something done after all. Percy hadn't wasted half his day with the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. flirting with a woman ten feet from him.

"Well, we noticed and we're gonna have to go ahead and shut that down." she told him with a smile on her face.

"Can't blame a guy for trying." Phil replied.

"Hey Steve, you're supposed to protect the ATCU from things like this. So play nice with the FBI's Task Force and fix this." Rosalind told the person on the phone.

"Percy, we'll be in my office for the next little while. Stay in the lounge." Coulson ordered.

* * *

Later, Phil emerged into the lounge with Rosalind trailing behind him. "We're going to the holding cells." The Director told him. He nodded in return. He was starting to get bored of waiting for them in the lounge very fast.

He followed the both of them down to the level that housed the holding cells. Phil gestured for him to wait outside one of the cells. Coulson told Rosalind to go in first. As Coulson passed him, he picked up a tablet from one of the security stations and an earpiece and gave them to Percy.

"Here. I'm gonna ask Roz a few questions. I want you to watch her facial expressions. Tell me if something's off." he told Percy.

"You know I'm not trained to detect lies, right?" Percy asked.

"I know. But I also noticed that you can tell when we're withholding information or when my agents are lying. Besides, think of it as getting a taste of S.H.I.E.L.D." he shot back.

The Director went inside the cell and the door closed behind him. Percy held up the tablet so that he could see their movements.

* * *

"Do you expect me to stay in this room overnight, Phil?" Rosalind asked as soon as the door closed behind them. "Cause I might need a little persuading." she teased.

"No, its you who needs to convince me." Phil replied.

"Convince you?" she asked, confused.

"That you're not Hydra." Phil told her. Her expression changed, but Percy didn't think that for sure she was lying. "Otherwise you're never leaving this room again."

"What the hell are you doing, Phil?" the woman asked a bit agitated.

"Getting the truth out of you once and for all." The Director replied.

"Is this a joke?" Rosalind asked Phil.

"I'm not laughing." Coulson deadpanned.

"What? You think that there's some hidden secret that you can just scare out of me?" Rosalind asked, her tone turning frustrated.

"I have my people infiltrating your facility. I'm getting the truth regardless, so this is your final chance to come clean." Phil told her.

"They wouldn't find anything out that I wouldn't happily tell them." Rosalind told Phil. Damn. This was hard. Both of them were using their spy-craft to attempt to trick the other.

"What's wrong with you? Stop lying! Why don't you tell me who you really are and who you work for?" Phil shouted angrily stepping closer to Rosalind with every word.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Look at you!" the woman replied, stepping backwards. She looked intimidated.

"Director," Percy said in his comms line to him. "She's genuinely scared." Coulson didn't reply, then again, he wouldn't if he didn't want to tip Rosalind off about the fact that they were being watched.

"I wasn't playing games." the woman said. "I thought—I thought there was something between us." the woman stuttered. "Something real that wasn't just based in this spy-craft manipulation crap."

"You really think this emotional appeal is gonna work right now?" Phil huffed.

"No, because you have no emotions." Rosalind fired back. "Hmm. This was all a plan? To sleep with me? Gain trust and take advantage?" Rosalind mulled, her tone showing hurt.

"Don't try to talk your way out of this." Phil told her.

"So this whole tour of your base was just a ruse. And the kid that you had following us really was meant to watch my every move." she concluded. "What? The whole thing with him using his powers to save me, was that just a demonstration of what he could do to me?"

"You lied to _me_." Phil shot back. "Andrew isn't being kept at your ATCU facility, is he?"

"Hmm. Of course not." Rosalind said, a fake smile on her face. "Of course we don't keep Inhumans at that facility. We can't risk some duplicitous nutcase breaking in to look around. Looks like we made the right move."

"You were always one step ahead." the Director told the woman.

"I thought you were different." Rosalind told Phil, grabbing her purse.

"Oh please. I knew that you were lying. You know why? You slipped up." Phil informed her. "T.A.H.I.T.I. The first time we met, you tried to get under my skin talking about Tahiti. So I was hoping against all hope that you would confirm a high level source from within S.H.I.E.L.D., but you claim you have none."

"That's because I've been honest." Rosalind told Phil.

"The only other possible way you could know about Project T.A.H.I.T.I. is if you got your intel from Hydra." Phil shouted at the woman.

"We're done. Maybe its the fact that you had an alien sceptre rip through your chest and you like to do the same to other people." Rosalind fired back.

"At least I didn't use a dead husband to sell the idea that the ATCU is working on a cure. My agents are reporting to me live. We both know you don't want to cure Inhumans, you want to make them." Phil shouted.

"How dare you mention my husband?!" Rosalind told the Director, her tone one of anger. That was genuine.

"At your compound, we found proof. Enhanced Specimen Control." Phil stated. Rosalind turned toward the Director sharply.

"No one's allowed on those floors due to a risk of infection. That can't be true. No, I get weekly reports fro—" she told him before she interrupted herself. "From Malick."

"Excuse me?" Phil asked.

"Gideon Malick." she told him.

"I know the name. Industrialist. He served on the World Security Council." Phil informed her.

"He's a friend. I've been working with him for over 10 years. He advises the President's staff, he helped make the ATCU and he oversees the Science Division..." Rosalind trailed off. "Hmm. He gave me the T.A.H.I.T.I. intel."

"Look, your agents need help. Let me make a call to my people. I can get them to cooperate." Rosalind told the Director.

"And let you sell them out? No." Phil fired back.

"Phil, look at me. I don't know what's going on. We need to work this out together." Rosalind told Phil.

The woman wasn't lying. She was genuinely trying to help S.H.I.E.L.D. "She's not lying, Coulson. I can tell." Percy informed the Director.

"Alright. Percy, open the doors. There's a button on the tablet." Phil said out loud. He did as asked and located a button that unlocked Holding Cell 5. The door slid open to reveal Rosalind and Phil.

"He was listening in all this time." Rosalind concluded.

"I needed to take precautions, so I had him trailing your every move through the _Playground_. I knew that I couldn't be objective and I can trust him to keep quiet." Phil explained.

They made their way back to the lounge where Rosalind took a seat at the large table. Percy for one was just happy that Phil finally let him put down that stupid gun he'd been carrying the entire day. Man he was so grateful that Riptide collapsed into a pen when it wasn't needed. The assault rifle, while a powerful weapon, was also bulky. Phil had stepped into his office for a moment, leaving Rosalind alone with him.

"Look Ms. Price, I'm sorry that I had to be present through your entire day here. I know that its not the most comfortable experience to have people watching you." he tried to apologize.

"That's alright, Percy is it?" she told him. He nodded in response. "I'm sorry about being rude earlier. I know that I shouldn't object to being followed around by an agent at a S.H.I.E.L.D. base." she told him.

"Thanks for the apology." he told her. "I guess now's a good time to tell you that I'm not a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."

"What? How come Phil asked you to follow us around all day then?" she asked.

"I'm staying here. My powers... I can usually control them better, but recently, something caused them to go out of control. I can use them, but if I use them too much, things get messy. Coulson sent Agent May to come and get me. That's why I was there on the rescue mission." he admitted. The woman could be trusted, that much he knew.

"You're not really an Inhuman, are you? Just like you said. I didn't forget." she told him.

"No. But that's a conversation you should have with Phil. I don't know if he wants anyone outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. to know about what I am." he told her. "Although, I'm sure that you as a spy could find out easily. I still don't know how you do it. Being a spy, that is."

"Well, its tough sometimes. You have to be able to distance yourself. Make do with what's around you and complete your objective." she told him.

"Hmm," he mused. "I was always told that my inability to distance myself was gonna get me in trouble."

"Well, it also takes good instincts to be a spy." she told him, looking him in the eyes. "Something that you have."

* * *

Later, when Phil came down, he informed them both that the agents were on their way back from the ATCU headquarters. They would be arriving in about two hours and immediately there would be a team debrief, which Percy and Rosalind were invited to join.

"Alright everyone. Let's get this started." The Director said to the people standing and sitting around the lounge table. The door had been shut allowing them complete privacy.

Fitz and Simmons had brought up a file. One by one, they put down papers which showed symbols on them. Every succeeding picture was a more modernized version of a ram's head. Until Simmons rotated the last picture upside down. It became an octopus.

"What is that?" Percy asked not knowing what the symbols meant.

"Hydra." Fitz answered. "These pictures are various logos of sects and organizations spanning over one hundred years. Including Project Distant Star Return at NASA."

"What's Project Distant Star Return?" he asked.

"Project Distant Star Return is the mission that carried Astronauts to Maveth, a planet far from earth. It's completely barren on the surface. Little life exists on it." Simmons told him. "I was pulled into a wormhole to it and Fitz had to jump through to save me. I spent six months on that planet with a member of Project Distant Star. It wasn't a mission to explore space... it was a getting a human sacrifice for something there."

"Okay. So trans-dimensional wormholes exist." Percy joked. "Guess that shouldn't be a surprise given that I'm alive."

"What do we do?" Daisy asked.

"For now, nothing. I don't believe that Hydra has the capability to return to Maveth so we wait. If they do end up figuring out a way to the planet, then we get them. We don't know anything for certain. Be on watch, but for now, everyone get some rest. I know that its been a long day.

With that, everyone dispersed. Percy thought that now as a good time to apologize to Lincoln. He still didn't think that it was right, but he'd honour Melinda's wish. Running off down a corridor, he found Lincoln talking to Daisy.

"Hey," he told them. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't want to be a dick but I knew that what happened to Melinda on that mission was partly your fault. I realize that I can't blame you for what happened."

Lincoln stayed quiet until Daisy elbowed him. "Alright. Apology accepted." the Inhuman told him rubbing the side that Daisy elbowed. Nodding to them both, he headed to the Director's Office. He needed to come clean about everything to Coulson.

* * *

When Coulson called him in, Melinda was in there talking to Phil. They both quietened down when he entered the room. That was a bit suspicious.

"Hey." he greeted. "I promised Melinda that I would come to tell you everything, so here I am."

"I thought you were holding something back." Coulson admitted. "Have a seat."

* * *

An hour later, Percy had told them everything again in detail. He didn't leave out anything. He told them about Annabeth, all about the Camps and his friends.

"First, let me say that I'm sorry for your loss." Coulson told him. "Second, I want to promise to you that just like you asked, I will not investigate this. Only May and I know. No one is gonna be investigating the demigod world."

"Thanks, but there's more, isn't there?" Percy told them. Melinda and Phil glanced at each other for a moment.

"There is, but I'll let May explain." Coulson said. Percy turned his attention to Melinda.

"Percy, you've been here for weeks now and I've seen how well you work here." Melinda said. "The Director and I were talking about that when you came in. We want to train you to be part of S.H.I.E.L.D."

He thought it over. He liked the people here. They worked for the common good of humanity. They didn't care about the petty disputes that went on in the world, they wanted to save people. He thought back to his quests. Those, he was obligated to do. Now, he had a choice.

"Yes," he answered. "I'm in."

"Alright. Agent May and I have spoken. She'll be training you to be a solo specialist. I noticed that when you do things, you prefer to be the one saving people, not have others do it for you." Coulson told him.

He nodded. It was his fatal flaw. He didn't want others hurt. Himself, that he could handle.

"Great. We start tomorrow morning. I'll see you in the gym at six, sharp." Melinda told him.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Rising Tides_**

 **Chapter Seven – The Art of Surviving**

 **Percy Jackson**

When Melinda had told Percy to be ready at six sharp, she had meant it. As he entered the gym, the woman was already there. Various pieces of equipment surrounded him around the gym, it was a paradise for fitness enthusiasts. Melinda had been sitting down near the end of the gym, in one of the recessed areas.

"Good morning." Percy greeted.

"Good morning." she called back. "Percy, from now on, I'm your supervising officer for your S.H.I.E.L.D. training which means that you do what I tell you, when I tell you. There are no discussions, at least not at this time in the game."

"Alright. Follow orders. Got it." he told her nodding.

"Great." she told him. "Now recruit, let's get you ready. I don't know whether to tell you if you're lucky or unlucky that here at a S.H.I.E.L.D. base, you can get the full training experience."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. agents usually receive training similar to that of the CIA and other intelligence agencies, but Coulson sees something in you. He wants you to become a specialist. That's a whole other ballpark. Feel free to thank him for that." she informed him with a smirk on her face.

This sounded like Camp Jupiter already. Well how bad could it be right?

* * *

He was wrong. It was bad. Actually, he didn't know if the woman was screwing with him by making do these tasks or if she was actually training him for something. She was making him jog 10 miles around a track first. Then over the course of the week, she began adding weight to him. First it was a five pound weight attached to him, the next day it was seven, the day after it was nine. It had been three weeks since then and she had gotten him up to carrying the maximum of thirty pounds.

Needless to say that he was constantly tired. She had him do endurance training for so long that Percy's life seemed to be revolving around that gym. He was constantly using its equipment either building up muscle to make his tasks easier or training in the off hours. The only thing that made it all easier was his godly blood. It allowed him to have extreme resistance to many tasks and he was progressing fast. Melinda had told him that specialist training for new recruits usually lasted eighteen months, but he was progressing well enough that she was giving him more and more to do.

* * *

Two months since Annabeth's death came along very soon. It wasn't really as if he had been paying attention. He was too busy. If his interactions with others in the _Playground_ had been bad when he first got there, it got worse. The only time he talked to anyone was when May had him visiting the lab for Simmons to run a full workup on him.

In the month that Melinda had been training him, he had progressed from simple endurance training to obstacle courses. Right now, Melinda had been teaching him to get around the obstacle course in ten minutes or less. The _Playground_ had a lot more levels than Percy realized. Beneath the gym was a whole obstacle course in a cavernous room.

"In order to be able to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. specialist, you need to be able to get things done and get them done without help. This course is designed to slow you down and to make your life hard. You told me about your time in San Francisco. Hopefully the Romans prepared you for this." she told him.

"Wait, I don't get any demo for this?" he asked.

"This is S.H.I.E.L.D. You have to learn on your own." she replied.

"I'm really starting to hate you, you know?" he said jokingly.

"I'm heartbroken." she said sarcastically. "Get to it, Percy."

* * *

If the endurance training had been bad, the obstacle course was his hell. He took two weeks to master it. It didn't help that he was stubborn. He passed the course after one week of training, not that May knew, because he was practising on his own time in order to beat some top scores. Right now, he was climbing up up the walls of an obstacle, pulling himself up to the top, running across the platform and jumping to avoid falling down to the ground.

He was making a mad dash for the end now, pushing off from a wall to get back down. He had to climb using rope and rappel down the other side. The end of the course consisted of a gauntlet of challenges meant to make you loose time. He ducked and jumped through the challenges, crawling through tiny spaces and jumping into a mud pit. This part was where he was worse at. He still had bad memories about his quest in Alaska. No matter how many times he went through the course, he still held discomfort at being there and Melinda, intuitive agent she was, had taken full advantage of it. She had him complete this section multiple times.

'You have to meet every challenge head on. Your job is to protect humanity, not be scared. It's hard but you need to learn to do it.' she had told him a few days ago.

He was now close to the finish. He knew that he would be passing but Percy wanted to be good at this, he pushed himself. He could see the end doors that he had to smash through to finish. He ran full speed slamming his side into the thick wooden door, knocking it straight off its hinges. He landed hard on the floor, covered in mud and sweating.

"Six minutes, thirty four seconds." she told him with a smile on her face. "One of our best times. Almost as good as Barton."

"You mean the bird man?" he asked.

"Yes, the bird man. His score was 6:31. Three seconds off is unheard of for a new recruit. Take it as a compliment."

* * *

It was now approaching three months since Annabeth's death and Percy was beginning to learn to let go. Talking to Melinda had helped. The woman was secretive and did not naturally trust people enough to tell them a lot about herself. It was a miracle that she told him about Katya and Percy thought that she was the best person to confide into. He would have loved to say that his training went well after that, but it didn't. It actually fell apart. He had been heading to the gym when May met him in the hall.

"We're leaving. Now." May told him walking past him to the lounge. She went in and came back out with a S.H.I.E.L.D. lanyard. "Here. This is yours now. Don't lose it. It lets you grants you Level 4 access. That means the unsecured areas of S.H.I.E.L.D. bases. For everywhere else, you will need an escort until you've completed specialist training." she said handing him the card.

"I thought that I had to wait?" he asked. This was really confusing. Why were they leaving?

"We have to leave. This base is about to become the staging ground for an all-out assault on one of Hydra's fortresses. Baron von Strucker was not happy that S.H.I.E.L.D. has his comatose son in custody. There was an attack ordered by the Baron and carried out by Grant Ward. Rosalind Price is dead." she told him while walking in the direction of the hangar bay.

"What? Where's Coulson? Is he okay?" he asked remembering the flirtatious behaviour Coulson had exhibited with Rosalind.

"I don't know. All I know is that he's taken off on an unsanctioned mission. Mack is the interim Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. right now. We have to move to another base." she told him having opened the blast doors separating the base and the hangar.

He followed her to one of the quinjets. She went immediately to the cockpit and started the jet. He got in the copilot seat just in time for take off. The plane rose and Percy saw the outside of the base clearly in daytime. He looked at one of the many heads-up-displays which showed that Melinda was turning the jet to face North and she engaged the thrusters to full speed.

* * *

It had been three hours since they had left the _Playground_. They had been flying at high altitude for a while before Melinda had begun their descent. As they broke through the cloud layer, Percy could see a large snow-capped mountain range in front of them. This place was familiar... He was reminded of when he came to Alaska on a quest with Frank and Hazel.

"Where are we?" he asked the agent next to him.

"Near Denali. We're crossing over into Canada right now." she told him. "We have a base in the Yukon territory. It's been retrofitted from being a S.H.I.E.L.D. outpost to a training facility for enhanced people."

"So what's this one called? So far, I've heard of the _Playground_ and the _Cocoon_." he told her.

"Welcome to the _Glacier_." she said stoping the quinjet midair and began their vertical descent into a plateau near the mountain. He could see that they were near the base of the mountain and that below them a hangar door was opening through the ground. The doors, like the ones at the _Playground_ , were disguised as part of the landscape and were only noticeable when open.

The quinjet descended into a cavernous hangar and landed on one of the numerous landing bays. This must have been a S.H.I.E.L.D. base from the glory days of the organization because "outpost" didn't do it justice. It was a sprawling underground complex. As they went through the corridors, Percy noticed that just like other bases, the _Glacier_ was full of agents, just much less than he saw at the _Playground_.

As the two weaved around the facility, he saw that they were going up, even though there should be nothing above them except mountain. The Playground's upper levels were disguised as an abandoned power station's offices which was supposed to be controlling the water flow of a nearby dam but here there should be nothing.

"Shouldn't there be a mountain sitting on top of us?" he asked the question that he had been thinking.

"Yeah, but S.H.I.E.L.D. drilled through some of it in order to make the facility bigger. This facility has five floors above the ground and seven below, including the hangar." she explained.

"So, how are things at the Playground right now?" he asked, changing the conversation.

"Percy, you should focus on finishing specialist training, not S.H.I.E.L.D. missions." she told him. "By the way, for subtlety, you would fail. Luckily, the physical training comes first, then psychological and then tactical so I can still teach you to be better at that."

"I know that you know what's going on there, so tell me." he said.

"Fine. We don't know how the director is doing. Coulson took off after Ward with Agents Morse and Hunter. Mack is in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. for now and both of us thought that it wasn't a good idea to have you in the middle of Coulson's revenge match. I told you, S.H.I.E.L.D. gets justice. We don't do revenge and Coulson's going to want revenge which is why the Playground is preparing for the worse. If Coulson retaliates, it could escalate the war with Hydra." she told him. Talk about an information overload. He was still processing how the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. just temporarily quits and goes on a revenge mission.

"Okay." Percy said not knowing what else to say in that situation.

"Look, just focus on this and everything will be over soon enough. Hydra will get what's coming to them and you'll be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Coulson already trusts you. He has good instincts when it comes to picking agents. He trusted Daisy and she was originally a hacker who tried to take us down. She came a long way since then and I think that you should prove Coulson right about picking you to be a specialist."

"What's the deal with being a specialist anyway. I never asked but everyone sort of throws it around like Coulson offered me a million dollars. I mean, he kind of did with the house for my parents, but you know what I mean, right?" he told her.

"Percy, a specialist is the most distinguished type of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent we have. People who are specialists have high clearance and are assigned by high ranking members of S.H.I.E.L.D. to complete critical tasks." she answered. "There is a hierarchy at S.H.I.E.L.D. with the execs at the top, next come the specialists, then the STRIKE commandos, then agents, then scientists and then operations divisions. Coulson wants me to groom you to be a very special type of agent, the only demigod agent in S.H.I.E.L.D." she explained.

As they were going up, they reached a floor and got to a door. Melinda gestured for Percy to use his new S.H.I.E.L.D. lanyard. He held up the card to the reader and the door slid open revealing a large sparring area. Both of them walked in and Melinda had picked up some work out clothes for him and told him to change in the changing rooms nearby. Once he was done, he walked back out to see Melinda waiting on the sparring mat in the middle of the room.

"I'm gonna be teaching you hand-to-hand combat. It's important for you to be able to fight without a weapon and this is the last of the physical tests that you have to complete. You completed strength and resistance training as well as hazards training so you do this and we can move on to psychological training." she informed him.

"How hard can it be? I have like sixty pounds of muscle on you." he teased. This would be easy. He knew how to fight well enough and he was stronger than her.

* * *

And that was how he ended up on the training mat with Melinda pressing his face to the ground. Okay, lesson one from S.H.I.E.L.D. training should be never underestimate Melinda May.

"You're lucky I'm not Agent Romanoff. She might have actually hurt you for having been so cocky." she told him smiling down at him.

"She might have hurt me?!" he exclaimed. "I am in a lot of pain right now."

"Like I said, consider yourself lucky. It would have been worse with her." she repeated.

"Can you please let me get up?" he asked.

She let him go. "Just remember this as a lesson. Never, ever think that you can take someone who is smaller than you. You may have sixty pounds of muscle on me but I have years of training." she warned after he got up. Gods, his everything seemed to hurt. The woman packed a punch.

"I think that I can train you to do this fast enough. I'd say two weeks or so." she told him.

"Two weeks to learn how to beat you?" he asked.

"No. Two weeks to learn Muay Thai, Taekwondo and some Jujutsu and then _try_ to beat me." she told him.

* * *

Those two weeks ended up being the hardest yet. He wasn't physically taxed by working out but rather from the pain of all the hits. Melinda was not pulling any punches and expected him to learn fast. He had learned jabs, hooks, uppercuts, roundhouse kicks and so many more over the two week period. It wasn't learning them that was hard, it was defending himself from her while also landing his own hits.

She gave him almost no openings. He had to work hard in order to land a few hits. It took him full days of sparring in order to land a few hits. Gradually though, he was getting better. She was a hard teacher but even he could see that he was learning.

Eventually, he managed to get good enough to immobilize her temporarily and then after some more sparring, he could take her down. So this was how he was now standing victorious over her, panting from all the exertion.

"So, do I pass?" he panted.

"Yes. You pass."

"Oh great." Percy told her, promptly collapsing on the sparring mat to rest.

Both of them decided to go back to their respective quarters and clean up before eating lunch. Both of them were inside the lounge eating when May spoke "S.H.I.E.L.D. took down Hydra's lieutenants a few days ago. Coulson found out that Hydra managed to get that portal working again and went to find the demon on the other side. Coulson and Fitz followed them and managed to stop them. Fitz tells me that he got his revenge. Ward's dead and Hydra is getting significantly smaller. Once Baron von Strucker is dead, it should all be over."

"Whoa. That's a lot to take in."

"The best part is that nobody will be going back to the planet anytime soon. Mack ordered Zephyr One to level the castle the portal was in once everyone was out. Its a pile of dust in England now."

"Well, at least nobody has to worry about becoming a cult sacrifice now." he responded.

"I need you ready to leave soon. Coulson is back to being the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and he wants us in Vancouver to start your the psychological aspect of your specialist training while he's in Washington talking to the President."

"That won't be hard. I barely have any clothes at any of the S.H.I.E.L.D. bases." he answered.

"Well, this aspect of specialist training is spy-craft. We're gonna need to get you an entire wardrobe for this. You are gonna go into the real world."

* * *

It ended up that they left the quinjet at a S.H.I.E.L.D. property outside of Vancouver and took a black SUV to an apartment in Vancouver's Yaletown neighbourhood. It was a massive penthouse in a large building. The building itself was located near False Creek, an inlet that connected to the Pacific. Percy felt at home there. He could sense the life that was swimming nearby in the inlet, a rarity given that the inlet served as a marina in downtown Vancouver.

Just like Melinda promised, the next day clothes were delivered to the apartment in large boxes. She had explained to him that they used his medical scans in order to get his size right and had gotten him a varied wardrobe, including a few suits for when formal wear was needed.

He had already opened one of the boxes marked by a large crest with a moose on either side. Inside the box, he had found what he would wear today. It was the first time in a long time, months, that he wasn't going to be wearing S.H.I.E.L.D. issued clothing.

He had picked a fitted grey long sleeved henley, with a white undershirt underneath it, tan khakis and grey sneakers. He walked out of the room he was staying in and found Melinda waiting on the balcony outside on the phone. He knocked on the door separating the balcony from the living room, informing her that he was ready to start the day. A few moments later, she came back inside.

"So, what are we doing today?" he asked, relieved to have gotten out of physical training.

"Today, I'm not gonna be your instructor. I found someone else to take over. She's gonna teach you how to get people to trust you, seduction techniques and how to steal from them." she answered. "I have the day off meaning that I get to explore the city. Good luck with Agent Carter."

"Wait what? Who's Agent Carter?" he asked but May had already left having taken the apartment's private elevator down. Ten minutes later, he thought that she had decided to come back when the elevator opened to reveal a blonde woman wearing a white dress with a flower print on it.

"Percy Jackson, I assume?" the woman asked.

"Yes." he answered still not knowing how this woman got here.

"My name's Sharon Carter, CIA and ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent May asked me to help you get ready for S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm supposed to teach you how to flirt, how to seduce and how to steal. That should be easy. It should only take a day." Sharon answered.

"Do I get a say in this?" he asked.

"Not really. It's a requirement for all S.H.I.E.L.D. specialists to know these skills. They're great for when you need help and can't get to a weapon or contact S.H.I.E.L.D." she answered.

"Alright then."

* * *

Needless to say that the day had officially become the most embarrassing day of Percy's life. Sharon was thorough. She taught him how to flirt, act interested, the basics of seduction and steal. It involved hours of Percy's awkward attempts to flirt before he made any progress. At the end of the day though, he had learned to steal without arousing any suspicions. The trick was to use as little movement as possible when stealing off of a conscious person. If they are holding the item you want to steal tightly, it helps to make it look like you bumped into them and if appropriate, flirt in order to distract. Luckily for him, Sharon had decided that he wouldn't need to really know how to seduce someone saying that you just had to make them interested enough to get them alone and then sedate the hell out of them.

"Good." Sharon concluded after he successfully stole a flash drive from her purse.

"Oh thank the Gods. I don't want to have to do that again." he said.

"You'll need to learn to be more comfortable with it. Trust me, men can use it just as much as women can. Just remember, if you're confident, people will be more likely to do what you want." she advised. "They're kind of like sheep, they'll follow unknowingly if they have a leader to direct them."

"Thanks, I guess." he told her.

"Don't worry." she laughed. "It's not as awkward as you're making it. You're training to be a spy, I am a spy. I've been in your shoes. Every specialist at S.H.I.E.L.D. has."

Sharon left telling him that she had to catch her flight from Vancouver to Dulles. Melinda had come back half an hour later looking thoroughly pleased with herself and carrying in some bags. He saw bags from Hudson's Bay, the Vancouver Aquarium, Grouse Mountain and the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.

"You had a busy day." he stated looking at her various purchases.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. life doesn't leave much time to be a tourist, so I made use of my day while you had the most awkward one with Carter." she told him smiling.

"Yeah, I still don't see how that's fair. This is one of the world's most beautiful and amazing cities yet I spent the day learning the art of flirting." he complained. "Plus, I'm a son of Poseidon, being this close to clean ocean water and not being able to go in is pretty much torture."

"Well it looks like exploring Vancouver is gonna have to wait just a little longer. Phil called while I was out and told me that we're needed back at the _Playground_." she told him.

"Why?" he asked. "Isn't he supposed to have been meeting with the President about enhanced people?"

"He did. The U.S. Government cannot officially acknowledge S.H.I.E.L.D. while Hydra is still out there masquerading as us. There's still factions of Hydra that remain. We might have crushed a large part of it, but Gideon Malick is still out there and so is Baron von Strucker." she told him.

"So unofficially, the government supports us?" he asked.

"Yes. Now that Rosalind is dead, they will need to appoint a new Director for the ATCU. President Ellis is making sure that it will be someone who takes orders from Coulson so that S.H.I.E.L.D. can still operate. Even the President knows that we're the best equipped to handle the Inhumans." she confirmed.

"Alright then, I guess we'll need to get dinner. I checked the fridge, there wasn't anything." he told her.

She shook her head no. "We have to leave now. We can get something to eat on the quinjet. The plane can pilot itself."

"Okay, but how do my new things get there?" he inquired.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. will have people get the boxes and ship them to the _Playground_."

Minutes later, they were exiting the apartment and were driving to where they had left the quinjet grabbing some takeout on the way there. Once on board the quinjet, Melinda had put up the ramp and set the plane to autopilot itself.

* * *

They were both sitting on the floor of the quinjet eating their takeout. Percy had gotten Chinese food while Melinda had gotten Greek food. It felt good to finally be able to eat something unhealthy. He missed just being able to do normal things like that sometimes.

"How's it been going with your mother?" Melinda asked breaking the silence.

"It's been going well. We're talking, a bit less since we had to move but I called her last week and so long as I keep checking in every few weeks, she shouldn't get too worried. She's six months along now. She'll be giving birth to my sister in no time." he responded.

"Have they found a name yet?" she asked.

"They've been thinking about continuing the tradition of Ancient Greek names. They think that Penelope would be a good name." he revealed.

"Penelope, after the wife of Odysseus?" Melinda asked. Percy nodded in response.

"Yeah. Penelope was a woman who Athena admired. She rejected her suitors when they stormed her palace. Even though she was a woman with no rights in Ancient Greece, she still stood against them. She was intelligent enough to trick the suitors to take a test to determine who was worthy of her. She knew that her husband was nearby and would win." he revealed.

"Isn't there a version where she was really confused and doesn't know much? I think I remembered learning that before in college." she asked.

"Well, not the version that's true. Some of the poets took some liberties when recording history but at Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, there are accurate accounts of lots of things." he explained.

"That must be nice—having the only surviving and accurate evidence of so many lost stories." she commented.

"It's sad that people will never know, but I don't think that regular mortals will be comfortable with the fact that there are such things as gods out there and that they have children and that those children are hunted by monsters." he told her.

"Well something else that I remember from college was that Sir Arthur C. Clarke once said that 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.'. I choose to also apply that to beings. What you say are gods could just be extremely advanced beings that happen to live on earth. I mean, look at the Asgardians. Thor is still technically considered a god even though everyone know's he's an alien."

"I wish more people viewed the world that way, but we both know they don't."

"I know. That's why I work S.H.I.E.L.D. It lets me do good." she revealed.

"How did you even join S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Percy asked feeling curious.

"I was recruited in my second year of university. I was studying literature but I was also a kickass athlete. I somehow popped up on their radar and they pulled me from there and put me in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy for Operations." she revealed.

* * *

They spent the rest of the flight in silence, both needing some time to themselves. Two hours later, they were back at the _Playground_ and Percy had gone off to bed. It had been three months since the Battle for Camp Half-Blood now and he was getting comfortable with the idea that S.H.I.E.L.D. would be a part of his life now. He went to bed that night dreaming of Annabeth.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Rising Tides_**

 **Chapter Eight – S.H.I.E.L.D. Means Sacrifice**

 **Percy Jackson**

For a long time now, Percy hadn't had any demigod dreams. He had been able to go to sleep without having to experience visions, being issued quests or even being visited by deities. When Percy came back from Vancouver though, he saw someone who he never expected to see anytime soon, Annabeth.

It was probably in the middle of the night when his dream began. He found himself somewhere he had seen before. A beautiful gated community of homes from all periods of time—from Roman villas to Victorian mansions, they were all there. He was smack dab in the middle of a pedestrian pathway, most likely looking like the most lost person in the world.

"Hey Seaweed Brain." a familiar voice said. He turned sharply. There she was, looking just as beautiful as ever, her blond curls let down, wearing a beautiful sleeveless white dress.

"Annabeth." he said dumbfounded. "How?" he asked. He shouldn't have been able to see her. Hades would have never allowed it.

"Nico." she answered. "He has the power to let people into the underworld now. I asked him if I could talk to you."

"That's against the Ancient Laws. How did he pull it off?" he asked her.

"It was a one-time deal. It can't ever happen again." she answered. "Let's talk inside."

"Inside where?"

"Come on, we'll go to my house." she told him, walking toward a Roman villa. She opened the gates to the villa's yard and let him in. It was a beautiful villa, two stories tall, within its own walled compound. In the front, he could see a courtyard with a fountain in the centre.

They walked through the front door and Annabeth led him to her living room and she sat down on one of the couches. He took a seat across from her. He didn't know how he felt about her asking Nico to summon him to the underworld, three months after her death.

"Some spirits told me that you cut off ties with Olympus." she stated.

"Yeah." he confirmed. "I just thought that I shouldn't have to save the gods after already having done it twice."

"Percy—" she started.

"We were supposed to have both been alive you know. We were supposed to finish high school and then go to college in New Rome." he told her. "It was going to be _our_ future."

"I know." she answered. "You haven't spoken to anyone of our friends."

"How could I have?" he asked sarcastically. "Most of them are immortal gods now."

"You could have had that too, Percy." she told him quietly.

"No, I couldn't. It would mean giving up everything I know. Nico and Jason have nobody. Piper, she only had her dad." he told her harshly. He didn't care right then. For months, he tried to move on from her, only for her to ask his cousin to break godly laws and send him here. "I have my mom and Paul. You know it wasn't an option."

"Look, I'm sorry. I just wanted to see how you were doing. You fell off the godly world's radar. I'm not looking to mess up your life. I know you moved on and so have I." she told him. "You may not be my boyfriend anymore, Seaweed Brain, but I still care."

He was quiet for a moment. "I've been recruited at an organization called S.H.I.E.L.D."

"S.H.I.E.L.D.? The mortal agency that was involved with the alien attacks in New York and London?" she asked, looking confused.

"Yeah. That one." he replied.

"How did they even find you?" she asked. "Do they know about us? Did you tell them?"

"I didn't have to. They already figured it out." he told her. "When they found me, they already had it figured out. When I found out they knew, I made a deal with their Director. They leave us alone and we leave them alone."

"I don't know what to think, Percy. You cut off contact from Olympus and now you're working for some organization that hides in the shadows. What's going on?" she asked.

"No, you don't get to do that." he told her. "I get it. You're worried that I'm breaking down without you, but I'm not. I'm doing this for me—I want to be able to go outside without having monsters follow me everywhere. I want to be able to do something without the gods just plucking me from where I am like a feather on a bird. I wanted freedom and to me, that meant no Olympians looking over my shoulder."

"So you picked a mortal intelligence agency to serve? That's not freedom." she told him.

"The price for freedom is high. It always has been." he told her. "To me, the price was working with S.H.I.E.L.D. instead of running from them. They've been more than fair with me. They haven't done anything to violate my trust and I _do_ trust them."

"Percy… you've changed a lot." she told him.

"I just grew up, Annabeth. The world's not the same anymore. You know that. You saw what I did in Tartarus but you didn't see what happened after you died. I didn't just kill Gaea, I obliterated her. I used her own powers against her. I remember taking control of the earth from her, I remember commanding a storm to destroy her." he recounted. "I lost control that day and I still can't control my powers. S.H.I.E.L.D. can help me. They can contain me if I ever loose control."

"You don't need them. You can go to camp. You're safe there." she pleaded with him.

"I can't go back there. I destroyed it." he said. "Even if I did go back, I wouldn't be able to stop my powers. S.H.I.E.L.D. is where I want to be." he told her firmly.

There was a long silence between the two of them. "I guess your mind is made up then." she concluded.

"It is." he said flatly.

"I know that you don't want me to interrupt your life, and I'm sorry I did. I just wanted to see if you were okay. You clearly are." she told him looking wistful.

"You look good too." he told her.

"I don't want to pick a fight, Percy. We've both been affected by this."

"Annabeth, I don't know what there is to say. You're right. I'm different, grief does that to you." he told her softly. "I moved on Annabeth. I grieved and moved on. I know that you care and want to know, but you're not with me up there. You're here and we both have to get used to that."

"When did you get so wise?" she asked with a small smile.

"Probably around the time that your mom took away my dyslexia." he answered.

"You know, I really don't see my mom helping you." Annabeth told him smiling.

"Yeah." he replied.

"Goodbye Percy. Live well. Live long." she told him before he was suddenly pulled from the dream.

* * *

When Percy woke up, he found that the clock on his nightstand said 5:45 AM. Shit. He needed to get ready for tactical training. Melinda would be waiting for him in the gym. He jumped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. He took a quick shower and then brushed his teeth. Breakfast was gonna have to wait until after tactical training.

When he got to the gym, Melinda was already waiting for him next to a table. She was standing amongst the largest collection of weapons Percy had ever seen. Everything from machine guns to revolvers, all laid out in their weapons cases. Beside the weapons cases, Percy could see the ammunition boxes for all of the guns laid out in front of him.

"You know, sword fighting is more my style." He joked.

She smiled. "Don't worry. S.H.I.E.L.D. will be testing those skills as well. We just need to make sure that you can do this first." she told him.

"So, where to we start?" he asked.

"Well, your first assignment is to lug all this to the firing range. Of course, all of it out of the cases. You need to get used to the weight of each weapon." she instructed.

He looked at all of the weapons. "You mean that I have to physically carry all of this to the firing range?" he inquired.

"Yes." she confirmed.

Gods. This was going to take forever. He decided to start with the biggest and heaviest guns—at least then at the end he would be carrying many smaller pistols at once.

* * *

It took him half and hour but he managed to get everything to the firing range. Melinda was waiting for him. As he walked up to her, she handed him a pair of noise-cancelling headphones and a watch. He understood that the noise-cancelling headphones would be nice but the watch—what was that about?

"Umm. Thanks for the headphones but what's the watch for?" he told her.

"The watch is so that I can monitor your vitals. Look, one thing that needs to be constant in a fight is your ability to think well and this is determined by the chemical balance of your body. When your heart rate is steady while in a fight, it means that your body is in a state of chemical balance and your thoughts are not clouded. I need to be able to monitor you." she told him. "The watch itself contains a heart rate monitor and can do periodic scans of your body and various muscle groups in order to send those to Simmons in the lab."

"Why does Simmons need it?" he asked. He didn't get why the Brit would want scans.

"She wants to be able to profile demigod biology. I told her that she could only do that if you're comfortable with it. So far, we've used this method to understand what Daisy's responses are to stimuli and threats." she answered.

"Alright. I can do that." he said. At this point, his conversation with Annabeth came back. She doubted that S.H.I.E.L.D. could help him and told him to seek out camp. He had made it clear that he saw himself with S.H.I.E.L.D. not Olympus though. Well, it wouldn't hurt to speak to Simmons later.

"Okay. First, put on the watch. Next watch what I do. You need to learn the position in which to stand when firing a weapon. As a rookie, you need to know to hold the gun with both hands. I don't care how strong you are, you don't have the control needed to use it one handed." she told him.

He copied her position. He stood at the firing line and took a gun as May offered it.

"Here's a magazine. What you're holding is a Glock 19 9mm Handgun. You load the mag from the bottom. The safety is there." Melinda told him pointing at the gun's top back area.

"You push that and the gun is live. One thing that I don't tolerate is people using weapons unnecessarily. This gun is going to be firing training rounds which are safe but can still harm people so do not mess around with it." she warned.

He nodded in response.

"Okay. Line up the weapon like so and start firing when you're comfortable." she instructed.

* * *

His first lesson had been over and he immediately went to the lab. "Agent Simmons." Percy called to the Brit as he entered the lab.

"You can call me Jemma, Percy." the woman told him. She seemed to be doing better than before. She looked skittish before, but Percy assumed it was because of her time on Maveth.

"Okay, Jemma. I wanted to ask about the scans you've been running on me. I just want to know what that's about." he told her.

To his surprise, the woman didn't balk at his inquiry or try to deflect. "Well, I wanted to know how your biology works in relation to that of a human. So far, the regular scans and tests have given me an idea of demigod biology." she answered.

"So how does demigod biology function?" he asked.

"Well, from what I can gather from the blood test you did before, I can see that your blood contains regular cells, but when you examine them specifically, they're very different. For example, your cells are capable of repairing themselves and replicating themselves at an extremely rapid rate but you don't show signs of accelerated aging or cancer. This means that your body has adapted to having rapid growth occur in it and can process it well. I also ran numerous tests. It would seem that your cells also are powered in a multitude of ways. While human cells are powered by glucose—sugar, your cells can be powered by sugar and water. Your body has figured out how to break the hydrogen bonds of water and use the chemical energy to power itself." she rambled. The woman reminded him of Annabeth in that moment.

"Whoa. Calm down there, Jemma. I can barely understand what you said." he told her honestly.

"Well, the gist of it is that your body is naturally superior to that of a human. Hell, its superior to that of an Inhuman. If I wasn't a scientist, I would believe that there are actually gods." she told him.

"So you don't believe me when I say the Greek and Roman gods are real?" he asked. "Even though I have my powers."

"No, I do believe that there are beings who people labelled as gods exist, just look at the Asgardians. I'm saying that perhaps the gods you are telling me about are a similar story. Just more advanced lifeforms who call themselves gods and truly by comparison, they are." she explained.

"Ah, so I take it you are a firm believer in Sir Arthur C. Clarke?" he asked remembering what May told him.

"Yes. I know you told us a lot about your family already, but I personally think that unless I got to study them in person, I could not conclude that they were actually divine. Besides, I like to believe that in time, even if in a billion years, we will be able to understand the reason why they are considered gods." she told him.

"Okay." he said. "I just wanted to know what the tests were for. The only thing I ask is that you don't dig too deep. The gods can be dangerous and easily angered. If you need to know about this, just consult me first. I don't want anyone getting hurt."

* * *

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three weeks had passed since that first lesson. He had since moved on to all of the other types of guns—assault rifles, shotguns and even sniper rifles. It took him a few days to master each one, but given that his entire day was spent practicing, Melinda told him that it wasn't surprising.

He was finishing up his weapons training right now by firing on moving targets. He had to distinguish between threats and civilians and so far, he had a perfect score. Only a few more and… done. Perfect score.

"Three minutes to clear 100 targets and 130 civilians. Impressive." May commented.

"Thanks." Percy replied. "Did I break any records?"

"You certainly did this time. You scored right after Agent Romanoff and me. I trained you well." she told him with a smile.

"One day, I'll be able to beat you, not just match you or subdue you in hand-to-hand combat, but beat you at something." he promised with a grin.

"Bring it, Jackson." she called back.

* * *

The second last part of training was using a sword. Because Percy was a great swordsman, Melinda wanted him to retain his abilities for use in the mortal world when necessary. For that, she had Fitz design him a duplicate of Riptide made of a light-weight metal polymer. It was just as light as Riptide and could work on mortals. He still wasn't comfortable with the idea of hurting people, but Melinda had assured that as she said, lethal weapons were a last resort option.

He didn't take long to master the sword. It really only took a few days until the training dummies that May brought were all decapitated. Since that lesson, the team had gone on assignment, leaving him here to continue practicing. He was getting extremely close though. Melinda told him that it would be a month at most until he would have a badge.

In that time, Percy had taken up boxing in order to let off steam. He still hadn't told anyone about his dream with Annabeth and to be honest, he wasn't planning to.

The both of them had to get used to the new reality. Percy was alive and working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and she was dead, gone. That's why he was currently in the gym, having sweated his way through his shirt before taking it off, letting loose on the punching bag.

That day, he had learned that the team was in Taipei trying to work out an agreement for Inhumans, undercover of course. It hadn't gone well. Hydra had been waiting and had blackmailed the military man who was supposed to be Coulson's ally. Melinda, Bobbi and Lance were with Coulson and he had gotten word from Fitz that they were now on their way to Russia.

He gave one hard punch to the punching bag and it flew off its stand. Damn it. He hadn't gotten to control his power. As a demigod, he had enhanced strength, but every single one of his abilities was on the fritz now.

On the ground, he saw that the bag had a tear and that the filling was slowly pouring out. Shit. He'd need to clean that up before Melinda got back and yelled at him.

"Whoa. What did that poor punching bag do to you?" he heard Daisy ask. He turned around to see her smirking.

She looked him up and down and her smirk lessened. "So, these are the scars from the monsters, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah. They're mostly gone now. A few are left, but that's fine." he told her lifting his arms and spreading them, showing her the ones left.

"Are those bullet wounds?" she asked pointing to his left pectoral.

"Yeah. Monsters sometimes use other weapons to try to kill us. Luckily, that one couldn't aim too well so he didn't fire into my heart." he told her.

"So, what brings you here?" he asked. "Usually, everyone avoids the place while I'm in here. Something about me maybe."

"It's not really about you. I'm an Inhuman and everyone still talks to me. The reason why they avoid you is because you're May's favourite." she told him.

"Her favourite?" he asked.

"Yeah. I mean, May trained me for a bit and I know that she's always been there for me and risked her life for me, but she never warmed up to me as fast as she did to you. She laughs and jokes and enjoys teaching you. She treats you at the very least like an aunt does when she spoils her nephew. So nobody wants to get be messing up with you. When she's angry, May's scary."

"Yeah, I heard." he responded. There was a moment of silence between them.

"I know that we have completely different types of powers and different sources of powers, but do you know any way to get control over my powers?" he asked her, changing the conversation.

"Hmm. You told us that you used to be able to control them well, right?" Daisy asked him.

"Yeah, until I used them too much and Poseidon told me that its because the two sides of me, mortal and godly are out of sync." he answered.

"Man, I'll never get used to the fact that Poseidon is you dad. It's so weird for a millennia old man to be your father." she cringed.

"Don't remind me. Demigod families are messed up." he told her.

"Okay, the way that I learned to use my powers was to embrace them, not fear the fact that I may loose control, but to feel confident. Base don what you told us, I think its because you're scared of your new power. It makes you feel too powerful, almost like a monster." she told him. "You're not. You have control and a support system. You have your parents, who know about your powers and love you and you have us and everyone else at S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Focus on your power. I know that you can make hurricanes. I want you to make the largest one possible inside here, without destroying anything. If you do, you'll answer to May." Daisy told him.

He concentrated. He could feel the winds pick up and the moisture in the air. The swirling mass gathered around him, gaining strength. He could feel himself loosing control, the storm becoming more massive.

"Focus, Percy!" Daisy yelled.

He lost control. "Ahh!" he screamed feeling pain as he tried to contain his storm. He fell to the ground exhausted. He was panting due to the strain.

"Again." Daisy repeated. "Don't stop until you can control it. One power at a time. For now, storms."

* * *

It ended up taking all day and Daisy hadn't been able to put in her own workout. At the end of the day though, he finally managed to control the storm enough. Still, he never needed this type of concentration before. Control used to come to him naturally and now, he was spending hours remastering what should have been muscle memory by now.

The gym had ended up wrecked when he was done. Several things were blown away and both he and Daisy spend an hour trying to make everything spotless again before Melinda could see the gym.

The both of them had went their separate ways to go clean up in their respective quarters. Percy had showered and had changed back into the tactical uniform that he started wearing around the base. He didn't really like it at first, but he got used to the fact that it was much more convenient to wear to train in and to go on missions in.

He was making his way from his room to the lounge. He figured that he could watch some TV given that he hadn't had the time to do so in a while. It was always specialist training or something had come up. He was in the final stretch now though—he would be a full-fledged agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. soon.

As he entered turned down the corridor to go to the lounge, he saw Melinda and Phil walking at a brisk pace toward it.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked. "Aren't you supposed to be in Taiwan?"

"There's been a change of plans. I'm sure that FitzSimmons informed you that Agents Morse and Hunter are in Russia having followed Malick. They're in hostile territory there and we need to extract them." Phil told him.

"Get the team. Zephyr One departs in five minutes." Phil instructed to May. She nodded and went off.

"Fitz made you some gear. Head to the lab and get it." Phil ordered. He nodded.

He turned in the corridor heading towards the lab. Inside, he found Fitz and Simmons both scurrying around trying to gather their equipment for the flight. "Fitz, Coulson tells me you have some stuff for me." Percy said.

"Yeah. Take those cases. There's an M4A1 semi-automatic assault rifle with a close-combat red-dot-sight, a Glock 19 9mm Handgun and your sword. Magazines with a blue writing on them are I.C.E.R. rounds and red writing means lethal." Fitz told him distractedly while gathering his own things.

"Thanks." Percy told him gathering everything to take to Zephyr One. Once he got to the plane, Percy secured everything in the armoury and went up to the bridge. Soon after, the entire team, minus Agents Hunter and Morse were on the bridge awaiting departure.

"Alright everyone, get to your post. We're leaving now. Set course for Siberia—maximum speed. We need to get there in time. Agents Hunter and Morse have a head start of five hours but their flight is due to last nine hours. We need to cross the Pacific in less than 5." the Director instructed.

* * *

Four and a half hours later, Zephyr One was flying undetected in the skies above Siberia. The two agents on the ground had made contact with the plane and had managed to find a vehicle and follow Malick to a Russian government compound. They were currently there observing, waiting for backup from Zephyr One.

"Alright. Percy, May, Daisy and Mack, you're all going in. Get to the quinjet docked with Zephyr One and prep for departure. This is a delicate situation and you all need to be ready for the worse. We are in foreign and potentially hostile territory." Phil told them.

They all made their way to the armoury before going to the quinjet. At the armoury, Percy picked up the weapons cases and hauled them to the quinjet, stowing them away. He had brought with him lethal and non-lethal rounds, hoping that he wouldn't have to fire a single round.

Melinda was the one to pilot as usual with the rest of them in the back. He felt the quinjet detach itself from Zephyr One and take off. It traveled for a short while before beginning a vertical descent in a clearing. The quinjet landed with a soft thud and the rear door opened letting in a rush of cold Siberian air.

Two figures approached the plane and Percy could make out that it was Morse and Hunter. The two were armed with assault rifles that Percy was sure Phil didn't give them at the diplomatic meeting.

"Where did you get the hardware?" Mack asked them.

"We ran into some company. They're tied up in the woods." Bobbi informed them.

"So, what do we know?" Daisy asked.

"Well, we overheard on their radios that Malick and a man named Petrov invited Russian Cabinet Ministers to the compound." Bobbi answered.

"Cabinet ministers? Here?" Melinda asked looking worried.

"We think that they're here like Malick, to get their eyes on an Inhuman." Hunter answered.

"Do you think that they have somebody?" Daisy asked worriedly.

"We saw someone being carted off. We think that's the Inhuman." Bobbi answered.

"We need to get inside. Get surveillance up and running." Melinda concluded.

"How's everyone's Russian?" Bobbi asked.

"My pronunciation is not fluent, but I can understand it." Melinda told her getting her guns from storage.

"Mine's nonexistent." Mack told her.

"Ditto here." Percy said.

"I dated a Russian hacker once, but I only learned the… dirty words." Daisy said with a smirk.

"Guys, seriously, we're spies. I thought we all learned languages." Bobbi said laughing.

"Well, you're spies and I'm a spy in training. And if ever you need Latin or Greek to be translated, I'm your guy." Percy fired back smiling.

"Bobbi, you're with Daisy and Mack." May instructed. "Percy, you're with me. Hunter, you too. Remember the protocol. In and out. Nobody gets caught."

* * *

So that was how Percy ended up sneaking around a Russian compound, armed to the teeth with an assault rifle, a handgun and two swords. Melinda had ended up telling him to pack the lethal rounds. She had explained that if they were in a bad situation, they needed to be able to stop the Russians from taking them.

The three of them were currently walking through a crowded storage room, looking for a way into the main facility. That was when they found a lump with shoes in a tarp.

"That looks like a dead body." Percy stated. Hunter moved closer and pulled the tarp away.

"Damn. That's Yuri Krupin—the attaché of the Russian Prime Minister." Melinda informed the both of them.

"Bollocks. That's not something we need right now." Hunter cursed.

"Coulson and Simmons need to see this body. Come on. Percy take his shoulders, Hunter grab his legs. This is going to the quinjet. The onboard scanners can take readings on the body." she ordered.

He ended up carrying a man's dead body for about a kilometre into the forest where the quinjet was and placing him on the floor. May had set up scanners so that Zephyr One could perform a virtual autopsy and they all headed back to the facility.

On their way back in the facility, Coulson issued a command on all of the comms "Be advised. Malick is staging a coup. The Russian PM is the target. The assassin is Russian Defence Minister Androvich."

"Great." Percy said sarcastically. "At this rate, we might as well invite the President and the Queen Elizabeth."

"I don't get it. Snapping peoples' necks isn't an Inhuman power. He's not even burning holes in peoples' chests like your ex." Hunter told May.

"You're right. Anyone can snap someone's neck." Melinda threatened.

"You could've paired up with just the kid." Hunter told her.

"Percy, I can trust. You, not so much." She replied.

"Oh right. I forgot, we're not friends." Hunter fired back.

"Friends don't put other people's lives at risk for selfish reasons." She told him.

"Selfish. I would take a bullet for any of you—not because of the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the wall of the base, but for _you_." Hunter called back.

"That's not what S.H.I.E.L.D.'s about. We don't do revenge. S.H.I.E.L.D. is about sacrifice for the greater good, not for the people we care about, but for humanity." Melinda told Hunter.

"No, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s about the mission not the people—" Hunter started.

"Shut up." Percy interrupted. "At this rate, we're going to get caught. And May's right, you chose to put Dr. Garner's life at risk. That's on you. Not anyone else—so for now, be quiet and we can sort this out when we're not in Siberia!"

"Heads up. Malick is on the move." Daisy informed them over the comms.

"Where are you, Bobbi?" Hunter asked. "Busy." She replied.

Suddenly, a communication from Zephyr One came through. "Zephyr One to Ground Team Two—we have a cause of death for the attaché. He was strangled but there are no visible outer marks. We suspect a type of psychic ability." Jemma informed them.

"Look, Malick's leaving." Hunter told them. Percy and Melinda peered around a corner to see the man walking to his car and preparing to leave.

"Why would he be leaving?" Percy asked.

"There must be a reason. You don't just set up a coup d'état and leave." May told him.

"Everyone, listen up." Came the director's voice on the comms. "This hit is going down here and now. The Russian Prime Minister is arriving by chopper and there's an Inhuman assassin on the loose. Protect the PM at all cost."

The three of them left quickly after that. They needed to get to the Prime Minister before Androvich killed him. They were making their way through the compound, finally stopping on a level which overlooked where Petrov and the Prime Minister were meeting.

"Where is my attaché?" The Prime Minister asked.

"He could not see the error of his ways, like you." Petrov answered.

"You are all traitors." The Prime Minister said angrily.

"Drop smoke grenades." May told Percy. He nodded and pulled some which were attached to his tactical vest. He gave each of them one smoke grenade. They all spread out around the meeting place. He saw Melinda nodding and he pulled the pin off the smoke grenade and dropped it down. Immediately, he ran down the stairs and went for the Prime Minister.

He could see May and Hunter taking out the traitors. He went to the Prime Minister who was looking confused through the mess. He grabbed the man's arm and pulled him along.

"This way, Prime Minister. You're not safe here." Percy told the man, hoping that he understood English.

"Someone, report!" Phil's voice commanded on the comms.

As Percy was weaving his way left and right through the corridors, he stopped in a secluded area. "I've got the Prime Minister. We need to get him to safety. Send a plane or something. Everyone here wants to kill him." Percy told Coulson.

"We're looking at options." Phil's voice replied. "Stay with him."

"Get me to safety?" the Russian asked in accented English. "Who are you?"

"I'm the guy who's saving your life." Percy told him remembering S.H.I.E.L.D. was not supposed to be in Russia or even exist. "We need to go Prime Minister. The people here are trying to stage a coup and we need to extract you from here. Will you cooperate?"

It took a moment for the Prime Minister to answer, probably weighing his options in his head before the man nodded.

"Great. This way." he told the man pulling him farther from where they came. Hopefully they would be exiting somewhere and could hide the Prime Minister from Malick and Androvich.

As they turned a corner, Petrov came around pointing a gun at them. Percy immediately let go of the Prime Minister and pulled up the M4A1. He pointed and fired two shots.

"For mother Russ—" Petrov said before Percy's bullets killed him. Gods, he just killed a man. He would have stopped if not for the imminent death that awaited if he did.

"Like I said Prime Minister, I'm trying to help you." Percy told the man.

They turned down a corner and Percy saw Hunter. He looked to be running from something and that's when Percy saw it. A shadow coming toward them. He focused on his powers and as soon as Hunter passed him, he used the air's moisture to create a massive current of air causing the monster to dissipate.

"Percy, get back to May. I'll take it from here." Hunter ordered. He nodded and ran into another hallway. In the distance, he could hear Russian. Shit, he needed to get out of here before he was caught. He saw a door and tried to push it open. It was locked. He took his handgun out of its holster and shot the look, hoping that he wouldn't get a bullet ricocheting into him. It worked and outside was the forest. He ran ducking past vehicles until he reached the quinjet. There, he found Daisy, Mack and Melinda waiting.

"Ground Team take off now. That's an order. Bobbi and Hunter are my responsibility now." Phil told them. Melinda did as asked and ten minutes later, they were docking with Zephyr One and disembarking the troop carrier.

* * *

They were now all waiting anxiously for three hours. There had been no word from the ground. Percy was busy thinking about what he had done that day. He had shot a man to death. He killed a person. He did it to protect someone and the person was trying to kill him and the Prime Minister, but he still took someone's life away. He did that.

"Hey." Melinda told him, sitting next to him. "What's wrong?"

"Its just… I shot someone today and I killed them. Just like you taught me, quick and efficient. It was muscle memory." he told her quietly. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"Percy, you did what was right. You protected the Prime Minister. You prevented an assassination. That man wasn't going to stop. He was a bad man and there was no other option." she told him. "If you just injured him, he would have not stopped trying for a coup or he would have been executed for treason."

He stayed quiet. "It's hard. I know. The first time I killed a person, it took me days to get over it. To process what I did." she told him. "The feeling you're feeling, the guilt, it never stops. It only lessens. And one day, it will be insignificant, but for now, you need to process this."

She got up and left him to think. He just sat there for another hour. Suddenly, Phil turned a corner and came into view. He got up along with the rest of the team.

"Where are Hunter and Bobbi?" Daisy asked.

"They won't be coming back to S.H.I.E.L.D." Phil told them.

"What do you mean?" Mack asked.

"They've been disavowed. They denied any involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D. or the United States." Phil informed them.

"No!" Mack exclaimed. "We can't just hang them out to dry."

"We're not. I gave them options and they chose to do this. They didn't want to live on the run. They wanted to be free." Coulson explained. "There are dead members of the Russian government down there. I convinced President Ellis to intervene and we managed to get them deported instead of executed."

"So, they'll be fine?" Percy asked.

"No." Melinda told him. "They've been disavowed. That means that they can never work for S.H.I.E.L.D. again and cannot get in touch with members of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"What?" he asked confused. "How's that fair? We saved the Prime Minister's life. He should be thanking them."

"That's not how the world works, Percy" Jemma told him. He turned to her. "There are dead members of the Russian government and they need someone to take the blame. This is the only way that they can get out of there alive." Jemma said with tears in her eyes.

"Turn the plane around. Set course for L.A." Coulson ordered cryptically.

* * *

That night, when they arrived in Los Angeles, Coulson ordered them all to get changed and pile into the S.H.I.E.L.D. SUVs. They got in and found themselves being driven around the city until they reached a bar. They all got out one by one with Coulson stopping by Percy and handing him a driver's license. It said that he was 21 and apparently lived in Vancouver, British Columbia.

They all went in silently and Coulson gestured for them to split up. They each individually went to a corner of the bar and were given a shot glass. From where he was, Percy could see Bobbi and Lance sitting together drinking beers. Then, a waitress began bringing shot glasses to them one-by-one. One glass per person on the team. They each brought up their shot glass.

First was Coulson, then Melinda, then Jemma, then Fitz… until it reached Percy's turn. He brought up the glass looking straight at them and drank it. From where he was, he could see the two tearing up and doing the same. Both of them gave him a teary-eyed smile. He smiled back and he could feel himself getting emotional.

He didn't know them for long, but he saw how dedicated they were. Sure, he didn't like Hunter's actions with Garner, but right now, it didn't matter. He got up, just like the others had one-by-one and exited the bar, knowing full well that this would be the last time that they would be seeing them. They had made the ultimate sacrifice for S.H.I.E.L.D., for them.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Rising Tides_**

 **Chapter Nine – Fate**

 **Percy Jackson**

Percy had gone to bed the night after Siberia with his head heavy. All his life, he was told that mortals were to be protected, no matter how monstrous they were, they couldn't be killed because they knew nothing else—they were ignorant beings. He killed a man and that weighed heavily on him.

He didn't actually go to bed that night. He had ended up just walking around the base, which was bustling in the dead of night just as it was during the day. He saw different people who he never really met before, but at the _Playground_ , that was common. Percy wasn't here often and the place housed over one thousand people.

Percy decided that he would be going to the lounge and watch some TV. What he didn't expect was to find the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. there watching a basketball game. Percy walked over to the mini-fridge in the lounge and pulled out a can of Coca-Cola. He went to a couch opposite from Coulson and sat down.

"Didn't think you'd be up right now, Director." Percy stated.

"Well, tonight was tough and usually, I'm up pretty late since I have to get briefings from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s other bases." Phil explained.

"That must suck." Percy commented watching the basketball game.

"I got used to it." Phil told him. "So what are you doing up? You're supposed to be resting. You're in the home stretch for becoming a S.H.I.E.L.D. specialist."

"I can't sleep. I'm thinking about what happened. I killed Petrov. I shot him twice with an assault rifle." Percy answered.

"Hey," Coulson said muting the game and turning to face him. "Petrov was a very bad man. He was going to kill you. You made the right call."

"Still," Percy started. "I'm not sure how I feel about killing people. Even if they're bad. Maybe that doesn't make me the best to be a specialist. Melinda told me about how specialists are supposed to be like one man armies who get the job done."

"That's what makes you the best to become a specialist. You have a moral compass which means that you feel compassion, even to bad people and that's the best quality you can have. You just need time. In the future, you may have to kill to save people or prevent bad things from happening. You need to be able to do that, but having compassion means that you aren't a relentless killer." he told Percy.

"I just need to know something." Percy told him. "I need to know that I'll never be used as a tool for you to threaten or control people. I need to know that what I do here is for the greater good, not for something else."

"That's a fair thing to ask." Phil commented. "You can trust me. I promise that your work here will only amount to good."

"Thanks." Percy told him.

"There is something else though." Coulson told him. "As a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, I need you to be able to keep secrets." Percy didn't respond.

"I need to be able to trust that you trust me." Coulson told him. "S.H.I.E.L.D. protects the world and sometimes, we need to do things that aren't so nice to protect people. I need to know that you trust me enough to listen to me."

Percy stayed silent for a moment. "I trust you… but I also know that you're keeping secrets right now."

Coulson looked at him for a moment. "I still don't know how you do that."

"I can feel the blood moving through you, but stop deflecting." Percy responded.

"Fine." Coulson sighed. "I am keeping secrets. Some of which cannot ever be uttered. Some of which I will entrust you to keep. You need to trust me."

Percy didn't say anything. Phil was asking for trust, but he knew only so much about S.H.I.E.L.D. or Phil.

"Alright," the director started. "I'll give you something. It's not exactly a secret inside S.H.I.E.L.D. but outside of S.H.I.E.L.D., nobody knows and will know… for now."

Percy waited. "The world thinks I'm dead." Coulson revealed. "I'm supposed to have died in the lead-up to the Battle of New York. Loki stabbed me through the chest and ripped my heart in two using his sceptre."

"That's not possible. If that were true, you'd be in the Underworld." Percy told him.

"Well, I did die. For three days actually. Director Fury, a friend of mine and my predecessor, had me revived. They used something called GH-325 to revive me—its a drug synthesized using a Kree's blood. It healed my heart completely and I started breathing on my own again."

Percy didn't know how to take that. That would mean that Coulson would have already been one of the souls that Charon delivered to the Underworld and given that Coulson worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., he wouldn't be surprised if the man got sent to Elysium. That meant that he did the impossible—going to the Underworld as a dead man and come back.

"What did you see on the other side?" Percy asked curious. People saw what they believed and Percy wanted to know how others would perceive the Underworld.

"I don't remember a lot, but I remember laughter and sunlight." Coulson told him.

"That's Elysium. It's a gated valley in the Underworld. It's a happy place—you can hear the fun from outside the gates and to make it more pleasant, there's an artificial sun and sky domed around it." Percy told him.

"That sounds nice… but I can't remember most of it—my memories were erased by S.H.I.E.L.D. when they revived me. The cure for death that they used wasn't exactly safe or tested before, so they just made it as if I'd been revived moments after death by a team of normal doctors and was sent on vacation in Tahiti." Coulson told him.

"Huh. I bet that my uncle doesn't like your friend Fury for having brought you back to life." Percy mused.

"Hades, you mean?" Phil asked. Percy nodded in response.

"How are the gods?" the director asked him.

"Well, they're arrogant, impulsive and dangerous. They don't really care too much about their mistakes or their actions because they have lived for millennia and will probably live on for many more to come. Even with all that though, they're the best guys out of all of the other immortals." Percy told him.

"That doesn't exactly sound reassuring. I think I'm finally getting what people complain about when S.H.I.E.L.D. used to show up and make everything disappear and hide the unexplainable." Coulson told him with a small smile.

"Do you miss it?" Percy asked. "Being alive to the rest of the world?"

"Every day." Coulson answered. "But I know that people would never accept the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. had the ability to bring back the dead—that's why I destroyed the method they used."

* * *

Both of them had ended up watching the basketball game until its finish. It was a pre-recored game but Percy never really got the chance to just watch TV so he didn't care. At the end of the game, the San Antonio Spurs had ended up winning the NBA Finals 104-87.

Both of them weren't too concerned with the score though. He suspected that the director was watching the game for the same reason that he was—a lack of time to do anything normal. Both of them had gone their separate ways after the game—Percy went to the firing range to let off steam and Phil had gone back to his office to get ready for the next day.

Percy was now taking putting together a Barrett M82 sniper rifle. He grabbed a a few practice rounds and loaded them into the gun. He fired—Bang! The recoil brought the rifle shooting back into his shoulder. The bullet hit the head of a target. He fired again and again and again.

They all hit the target in the centre of its forehead. Clean kills every time. In the more than three months he had spent at S.H.I.E.L.D., they had trained him well—from sunup to sundown there was constant training. It made him even more lethal than he had been before and every task demanded more control than ever. He was moving past the need to kill people sometimes but the fact that he could so easily do it was troubling. But S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't to blame for that—he had been extremely lethal long before he even met them.

He figured that one of the few people that could understand this would be Daisy. She, like him had powers. She could make anything and everything vibrate with enough force to cause explosions from nothing. His grip on the rifle had gotten stronger and he could feel the metal flex with effort trying to resist his grip. He let go of the rifle, making sure that no rounds were inside it at all and then taking it apart for storage.

When he finally stowed the rifle and went to get breakfast in the mess hall, he saw Melinda grabbing some for herself. When she saw him, she gestured for him to come. He sat down across from her at one of the long tables and plucked a croissant from her plate. She looked at him with a menacing look before she smiled. He knew that she wouldn't do anything.

"You know, if you were someone else, a fork would be against your neck right now?" she joked.

"Well, good thing I'm me then." he fired back with a grin.

They both ate in silence after that with Percy munching on the stolen croissant and Melinda drinking her coffee. When they were done, both of them went down to the lower levels of the gym where she led him below the obstacle course. Huh, there were even more levels buried under there.

When they finally came down to the level below the course, Percy found himself looking at the world's strangest room. There was a platform suspended in the middle of a pit filled with water and the walls around him all looked reinforced.

"This is where we usually would have had powered people using their powers, but we don't use it because we have the _Cocoon_." She explained. "So its just empty now and most people at this base don't even know its down here."

"How big is this place anyway?" he asked. "It seems to be growing every day."

She smirked. "I'll never tell."

"I talked to Daisy and she said that she was helping you get your powers under control." May told him. "She also told me that you were able to get control back over storms."

"She's exaggerating when she says I have control over the storms. It's still pretty sloppy." he revealed.

"No. I don't think so. Daisy's our expert in powered people. She knows what she's talking about." Melinda insisted. "Which is why I'm not the one who's gonna be training you with your powers—she is."

Daisy came down the hallway and into the large chamber. "Hey." she greeted.

"Remember, Percy, you're done with regular S.H.I.E.L.D. specialist training. You get your powers under control and you get your badge." Melinda told him leaving.

"Percy, I can only help for a little bit. I'm due for an assignment in a few hours so I need to teach you to control your powers and hopefully you can use that focus to figure out the rest on your own." she told him.

"Okay." Percy agreed and followed her onto the platform. She hit a button on a control panel on the platform and the two were lowered into the pit closer to the water but still out of reach from it.

"Let's get started. We're gonna work on your control over water today." she instructed. "Concentrate and try to manipulate it into shapes."

Percy did as asked and concentrated. He pulled water from the pit below him and commanded it to form shapes. He tried a wall first, then a shield and then a hand. He concentrated harder and made it wave to Daisy.

She smiled at him. "Great. Try to make this water freeze now." Moments later, the water cooled rapidly, steam coming off of it as it turned into ice. They were now separated by a massive ice sculpture.

"Okay. Now I want you to melt it into steam. Not to water—directly to steam." she told him.

"I've never done that before." Percy revealed. He didn't know how this was gonna work.

"Concentrate." she told him. "When I first got my powers, they didn't work because I didn't accept them. You need to accept that you've changed and you need to accept your new powers. It'll help you be ready psychologically for them."

He concentrated on the hand. It began steaming and shrinking. Suddenly, Percy felt a sharp pain in his side. "Ugh." he grunted. This was starting to get uncomfortable. He pushed through it and concentrated harder—he could do this. The ice turned to steam. The room fogged up.

"Okay. You're done." she told him. But he couldn't stop. The air around them was now heating up. "Percy, you need to stop. Focus—get your powers under control!" she told him.

He tried to will himself calm. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Calm—that's what Melinda told him was important for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. He thought about his family in New York and the new friends he had made at S.H.I.E.L.D. and he could feel his mind get calmer. The air around them stopped heating up and went back to normal.

"Okay—water is checked off the list." she told him. "But I have to report to the lab. I want you to master the ability to control quakes now. This power is one that you and I share so you need to impress me. I'll be back later—a few days at most if I'm assigned a mission."

"Alright." he told her as she left him alone in the room.

* * *

It had taken him a few days but Percy had managed to also master his control over earthquakes that day. He returned to the platform daily until he mastered his powers. He had concentrated on creating small shocks first and then he made his way to a large quake. The platform and room had been shaking—the water below him sloshing as its container strained to not collapse. He had done it though. He managed to control each and every one of his powers.

Three months—that's how long it took Percy to control his powers and not once had he needed help from Olympus. He did it—he was free from them. He could choose his own destiny, away from the gods' petty fights.

He had gone up to see Coulson to find everyone scrambling around. He looked on to see the team—minus Mack, plus Lincoln—heading toward the blast doors leading to the hangar.

"Percy, we gotta move. Zephyr One's leaving for New York in five minutes. Your gear is ready—assault rifle, sniper rifle, sword and handgun." Coulson told him walking past him. Percy scrambled to follow the team as they were all boarding the plane. Luckily, Percy had opted to wearing his uniform around the base so he was already dressed for it—although if this was being the welcome wagon for someone, he didn't think full black-ops gear was sending a message of coming in peace.

Minutes later, Zephyr One was in the air and heading east. It took a few hours but they were now in a holding pattern over New York City.

Coulson had everyone gather up around one of the large screens on the bridge and played an emergency dispatch call. The person on the line was saying that he was gonna be killed. Percy honestly thought the man was kinda crazy until he told emergency dispatch that he needed Daisy Johnson.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors emergency dispatch?" Lincoln asked.

"All the time and all over the world. It's how we're first on the scene." she answered before turning to Coulson. "Who was the caller?"

"A man identifying himself as Edwin Abbot." the director answered pulling up the man's file. "Owns a local grocery store in Dyker Heights. No affiliation to S.H.I.E.L.D. or any other intelligence agency. Just a guy."

"Do you know him?" Melinda asked Daisy.

She shook her head no. "I've never met him or even heard of him before."

"Prepare the quinjet for disconnect." Phil ordered an agent walking to the docking bay. The rest of them—minus Jemma and Fitz—followed their director as he lead them through Zephyr One.

"He knew your name." Lincoln told Daisy as they walked.

"Mentioned Hydra." Daisy commented.

"It may be a trap." added Melinda. They were now approaching the docking bay.

"We'll need ground tactical at the ready, Percy. I need you suited up. Assault rifle and handgun. Lethal rounds—Hydra is involved somehow." the director instructed. "We're supposed to be the ATCU so here are badges—they're real courtesy of the President. And remember, no powers." Coulson said handing one to every member of the team.

"You're coming—good." Daisy told him. "We could use the extra muscle now that Mack's in the infirmary."

"I don't think that I'm as strong as him. He looks like he can bench press a car." Percy fired back with a grin. He left the team for a second to pick up his equipment. He grabbed the ones that Coulson instructed him to bring. He slung an automatic M4A1 around him. He attached a few magazines of regular ammo to his tactical suit. Around his thigh, he holstered a loaded Glock 19.

When he joined up with the team again, they were all getting seated inside the quinjet and awaiting for departure. He strapped in and felt the quinjet disconnect itself from Zephyr One. Melinda was the one piloting and she smirked back at everyone as she made the plane roll causing it to feel like a roller coaster.

Minutes later, they were landing at a federal property in Brooklyn. They got out to find standard black SUVs waiting for them. Huh, President Ellis might not support S.H.I.E.L.D. publicly, but the man did give them an awful lot of secret support.

They all went in the SUVs and were driving to the man's location. In the distance, Percy could see the Manhattan skyline as it towered over everything else. From down here, the Mist hid Mount Olympus from everyone, including demigods, making sure that the eight million souls living below it had no clue about it.

They arrived shortly and all got out of the car to see Abbot being told to calm down by a police officer. As soon as Abbot saw Daisy, he walked toward her.

"Who are you, now?" the officer asked.

"Daisy Johnson, ATCU." she responded. She started talking to the man while Coulson showed their credentials to the officer. The director came back around and came up to him. "Be on guard. I don't want anything to happen to this guy." he told Percy. Percy nodded in response and canvased the scene.

People were gathering behind the police perimeter and he could see them obviously gaping when they saw him in full gear. That was probably the appropriate expression when seeing an eighteen-year-old decked out in full tactical gear, but hey, it wasn't hard to believe that he was a government officer—it was technically legal given he was 18.

Something happened and Coulson went down the alley nearby. Percy felt vibrations and heard a noise. It sounded like a helicopter. He gripped his rifle tighter—Hydra was supposed to be involved. He was right.

Moments later, a weird quadcopter thing came round the corner and and began to lower to the ground. "Hydra!" Percy heard Melinda yell out. He brought up his rifle and immediately began firing at the ship. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! It began firing back at them with missiles. He had to dive out of the way in order not to get blown up.

He fired on the quadcopter some more. No use. The ship had a reinforced plating on it. It fired a few rounds at them using a gatling gun. Shit. Those rounds were heading towards Daisy. He got out of his position behind a police cruiser to see Abbot crumple to the ground, red staining the man's shirt.

He saw as the quadcopter turned and left them. Daisy was running down the alley with Coulson following. He really wished that he could use his powers but he knew that the ATCU wasn't supposed to be made up of powered people. He ran after them gun at the ready.

A net came from the Hydra ship and ensnared a homeless man. Daisy was trying to grab his hand and the ship pulled away, disappearing. Daisy looked to be having a heart attack for a moment before collapsing on the ground. Coulson rushed to her.

"Are you okay?" Lincoln asked running past everyone.

"Breathe." Coulson told her.

"We need medical here." Melinda yelled to the ATCU team with them.

"Don't bother. I can help." Percy yelled to the same team. He looked toward Melinda and saw her give him a nod.

He went up to Daisy and told Coulson and Phil to give him some room. He used his powers to check her internal vitals. Everything was normal—just an elevated heart rate.

"Nothing's wrong with her. She's just in shock." he told them.

"It hasn't happened yet." he heard Daisy mutter grabbing a wooden sculpture from the ground.

"Alright, everyone back to Zephyr One." Coulson ordered.

* * *

They had taken the plane back to the _Playground_ and were all now in the lounge with Daisy pressing an ice pack to her head.

"You're sure it was the future?" Jemma asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Daisy replied.

"And my face was covered in blood? All of it?" Lincoln asked. She nodded in response.

"Coulson shoots you?" asked Fitz.

"Yes, for the thousandth time, I'm sure." Daisy said agitated.

"Well," Phil spoke. "I'll just ask the question that everyone's been wondering about. Is this even possible?"

There was a cacophony of sounds coming from Fitz and Jemma. Both of them seemed to be having a discussion with their respective selves on the topic of clairvoyance.

"That's a dumb question." Melinda interrupted. "Percy's a demigod. Seeing the future isn't that hard to believe."

"Okay, so we all agree that its possible?" Phil asked them. There was no response to the contrary. "Great."

"I can change it." Daisy said.

"No." Fitz replied.

"We can reverse engineer the visions and find out where this happ—" she started before Fitz interrupted.

"No," Fitz said. "I mean that fourth-dimensionally, its not possible. If you saw the future, then that's the future."

"Fitz is right." Percy agreed. "The future is pretty much set in stone, rather string actually."

"I can't accept that. I have to be able to help him." Daisy told them. "Maybe I'm meant to change it."

"We know what this homeless man looks like." Coulson commented.

"And we're running a face-trace." Melinda added.

"If Daisy can remember details—" Coulson said before Fitz interrupted again.

"Guys, there is no time." the engineer said. "Daisy glimpsed into the fourth dimension and if that happened, there's no way to change it. What we see as time is an illusion because of the shortness of our lives."

"Simmons?" Coulson asked.

"It's mathematics, he's talking about spacetime." The biologist tried to explain.

"Okay, how can I explain this?" Fitz mused getting up from his seat. He picked up a stack of papers that Percy recognized to the S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol list and placed it on the table.

"Look, we're 3D, yeah?" Fitz told them going to the head of the long table. "Imagine if we lived in a two dimensional world." he said picking up a page and a marker. "We wouldn't be able to conceive three dimensions—a cube or anything 3D."

"Right." Coulson said make the engineer to get to his point.

Fitz placed the paper back on the stack and using the marker drew a diagonal line on the stack's side. "Imagine that we two dimensional people were trying to see a cube. We can't see in 3D, so to us, the cube would be multiple flat shapes—squares spread out over time." the Scot said pointing to the line.

"We would see the shapes over time, but in reality, the cubes all exist at the same time. There's no time and no way for it to change, no matter what." Jemma added.

"There is no past, present or future when dealing with the fourth dimension. Everything just is." Fitz said going to lean against a wall.

"You're hurting my brain." May deadpanned.

"Look, I don't know what this means or even if I can fully process what Fitz is saying, but we need to help this man. That's our job." Coulson concluded. "And I think that I have a way to do it. Daisy can't leave the base."

The Inhuman turned sharply toward the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. "What?!"

"She's in all of the visions. We'll send May and Percy—they've appeared in none." He elaborated before Daisy rose from her seat.

"I'm supposed to be the one to save him. I have to help him." the Inhuman told Phil.

"If you really want to help him, stay here and work on remembering every detail possible. When its time, we'll send Percy and May and FitzSimmons, make sure to stay out of the damn snow." Coulson told everyone, his tone commanding.

* * *

Right now, Percy was following Phil and Melinda to the director's office. They were going up the stairs and turning a few corners before they reached there. Agents were bustling around the place most likely running the entire operation from this office. Coulson went behind his desk and got a box.

"I wanted to give this to you, Percy." the director told him handing the box over. "I've been monitoring your progress in your training and you've passed every test with flying colours. Hell, you managed to finish in almost four months when a recruit would have taken eight. You deserve to be an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Percy opened the box to find a S.H.I.E.L.D. badge inside a leather case. One one fold, it had an ID with his picture and information about him in S.H.I.E.L.D. and on the other fold, was the metal badge. He placed a finger on the eagle and then pulled out the leather badge case from the box.

"Level 8?" Percy asked. He didn't understand why he was this high up, because to his knowledge, there were ten agent levels in S.H.I.E.L.D. He knew for a fact that Jemma and Fitz, who were here for a long time, were only recently promoted to Level 6.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't base levels on time spent here, but rather on performance." Melinda told him with a smile. "Congratulations, Percy. I'm proud of you."

He rushed forward and gave the woman a hug. He did it. He managed to become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. "Thank you, I couldn't have done it without you." he told the woman. He released her from the hug and turned to the director.

"I won't let you down, sir." he told the man, shaking Coulson's hand.

* * *

May and Percy had decided to head to the lab to see what progress had been made in the search for what was going to happen.

"Do you remember anything else?" Percy heard Fitz ask Daisy. She shook her head no.

"How's everything going?" Melinda asked FitzSimmons and Daisy.

"Well, using the details that Daisy is giving us, I've managed to put together a list of keywords for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s servers to use. I have the servers using any type of technology accessible looking for where this might happen."

"All of the servers?" May asked.

"Yeah." Fitz replied.

"No. You can't use all of them." Melinda told the group with finality and walked off to a lab bench. She sat down in front of a computer and started tracking a server farm in New York.

Percy saw that Jemma was whispering something to the other two, but he didn't know what. "What's going on, Melinda?" he asked. The woman stayed silent for a moment before answering.

"Simmons and I worked on a method to track Andrew since he escaped. The servers in New York are the ones that are running the program 24 hours a day. If their processing power is diverted, the program will stop running." the woman revealed.

"Andrew? Your ex-husband?" he asked.

"Yeah." she said in a quiet voice. "Thanks for not calling him Lash."

He gave her a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. He knew that the woman still loved her ex even through all the horrors that he committed. Whatever people say about Melinda, when she cared about people, she did so with her entire heart.

* * *

Half an hour later, they had all decided to use the information that Daisy got in order to practice how to avoid mistakes. They were now in the gym with everyone taking on the role of different people. Percy and Melinda were working together in order to clear the room in time. Percy had been fake-bashing an agent's face in using his knee when Daisy called for them to stop.

"This isn't working. You're too slow." the Inhuman complained. Coulson had chosen to walk in at the moment.

"Again." Daisy ordered. Percy and Melinda walked out of the room and closed the door behind them.

"You know, we cleared that room in under two minutes. I saw the timer." Percy said.

"I know. I don't think that she's complaining because we're slow. I think that its because she wont be the one going there." Melinda responded quietly.

"That sounds like arrogance." Percy commented in a whisper.

"Whenever you're ready, guys!" he heard Daisy yell.

* * *

They had just gotten the first Daisy-approved round of practice in when an agent walked through the door.

"We found the building, sir." the man said.

Moments later, they were all following the man to the lounge and were now looking at the screen that occupied the space behind the conference table. The schematics of the building were laid out in front of them. It was a building in Los Angeles that was the headquarters for the Transia Corporation.

"That's the building." Daisy commented.

"Transia Corporation?" Lincoln asked.

"This just keeps on getting weirder." Jemma commented.

"That name is familiar, but what would Malick want with it?" Coulson asked.

"Sir, I used their nerve wire interface as part of your newest prosthetic… and the one you lost on Maveth." Fitz told the director.

"Alright then, Percy, May, this needs to be a surgical strike. No comms since Hydra will be listening and that might not be good if they really do have a fortune teller on their hands." Coulson ordered as he walked toward the hangar.

Out of nowhere, an alarm started sounding through the base. Everyone looked to each other worried.

"Uhh, what does that mean?" Lincoln asked.

"Intruder." Percy replied remembering when Melinda told him about the different emergency protocols for bases. He still had his handgun in the holster around his thigh. He pulled out the gun and cocked it toward the opening blast doors.

The blast doors opened to reveal a man with his hands on his head being escorted inside the base. As the convoy approached, Percy could see the man's face lit up by the lights of the _Playground_. It was Dr. Garner. Percy looked to Melinda who's face was hardened into a scowl.

"He just walked in, sir. Surrendered himself." the lead agent in the security detail told Coulson.

"Why?" Melinda asked Andrew.

"Lash is taking over, Melinda." Andrew answered. "I came here to say goodbye."

Melinda's face didn't show too much change but if you saw her eyes, they were showing all of the emotion she kept hidden. He could tell that she was conflicted. He could see her confusion, anger and sadness.

"Escort him to a holding cell." ordered Coulson.

The security detail led Andrew through the base turning past the lab and down a corridor. Coulson, Daisy, Melinda and himself were following from behind. They stopped at a turn letting the security detail get a head start.

"Well, at least this day can't get any weirder." Phil joked. No one laughed.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but May can't go." Coulson said.

"What?" exclaimed Melinda. "What do you mean I can't go?"

"You heard him, he's going away for good." Coulson replied.

"That man is a killer. I have no loyalty to him. The man I knew wouldn't do those things." Melinda tried, her scowl coming back on her face.

"He wasn't himself and now he may never be. If you don't go be with him, you'll regret it for the rest of your life." Coulson told Melinda in a soft tone.

"Let me go, sir." Daisy pleaded. "I'm the only one trained to do this. Percy isn't even an agent and Bobbi's gone so that leaves me."

He was slightly offended at the fact that Daisy was basically telling them while he was there that he was unsuitable to be an agent but he tried not to let that rile him up. Calm—that's the best way to deal with things.

"Absolutely not!" the director said in a harsh voice. "So you could play right into their hands?!"

"Everyone else stays here. That way, the vision can't come true." Daisy pleaded.

Everyone stayed silent for a moment. The director had a pensive look on his face. "Fine. We'll meet you in the lounge." Coulson told the Inhuman and she walked off. Melinda turned to Phil with an angry expression and Percy would be lying if he said he didn't do the same.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Phil?" May asked.

"I'm teaching her a lesson. If Fitz is right, there's no way to change the outcome of this, and given that Fitz has two PhDs, I trust what he says." Phil told them. "She needs to understand that she isn't indestructible. Percy, I think you know what I'm talking about."

"Yeah," Percy told them. "Sometimes, when we have powers, we grow arrogant and we need to learn the hard way that we can't afford to be arrogant, ever."

"Which is why a strike team will be in a quinjet while she's on the ground. I don't think that we'll be able to change destiny, but we can be there for Daisy." Coulson told them. "She needs to get over her Inhuman pride that she has to save everyone."

The group walked off to the lounge to meet with the team. May and Percy trailed Coulson a few paces bad so they could talk.

"Are you sure about this?" Melinda asked. "You agree with Phil teaching her a lesson?"

"No, I'm not. But there's no better alternative. I told you, in life, there are some events that can't be changed. For example, with demigods, we sometimes have prophecies and to date, all of them have come true." Percy told the woman. "That's why I think that no matter what we do, this outcome will still happen. I have experience with this sort of stuff."

"It's cruel to set her up for failure." May commented.

"It is, but there's no other way for her to learn. She's too focused on the fact that she's supposed to be the team's super weapon. She's not accepting her inability to help well." Percy told her. "I already had to deal with the fact that not everyone can be saved. I know what its like… That's why I can tell you that this is the best course of action."

By now, they were at the lounge and Daisy was waiting inside with the rest of the team.

"Okay everyone, let's get ready." Coulson said. The director turned to an agent and told them "Prep a quinjet to leave in ten minutes for the Transia Corporation."

"Daisy, go the hangar. A strike team will be there as backup." Coulson instructed. "Fitz, Lincoln, Simmons—we run the op from my office. And May, go see Andrew."

Everyone scattered to get to their posts, Melinda walking out slowly, and that left Percy and the director alone in the lounge.

"What about me?" he asked the director.

"You need to be there for May. I know that she has a soft spot for you." Coulson told him. "She's gonna have to deal with the hardest thing in her life. She's gonna need help."

* * *

 **Melinda May**

Melinda was making her way to the holding cells, thinking about what awaited her. She knew that Jemma had already instructed some doctors to get an IV ready so they could try the cure on Andrew. She didn't think that it would make much of a difference. She didn't want to experience this again. She broke down the last time she saw Andrew. She had shot him with I.C.E.R. rounds to get him into a Containment Module.

She walked into Holding Cell 5 and keyed herself in. Andrew was there lying down on the bed with an IV connected to his arm. He turned as he saw her come in.

"Shouldn't you be behind glass?" asked Andrew.

"I'll get out when I need to." she answered. He was nothing like he was the last time that she had seen him. Last time, he had been angry and deranged—now, he looked calm and at peace. She didn't know how she felt about that. The monster inside him could only be peaceful when he murdered as many Inhumans as he could.

"So, what's in the IV?" he asked.

"Something that Simmons has been working on." she answered. "A potential vaccine… Never been tested—might not even work. Even then, it only works on Inhumans who haven't turned yet."

"So its a Hail Mary." her ex-husband concluded looking at the ceiling. There was a long silence between them. She didn't want this—she didn't want to get her hopes up again only to have her heart crushed.

"If you're gonna say something, say it 'cause I'm not gonna stay long." she told him coming closer to the bed.

"I'm not here to repair." he told her sitting up. "I know that I can't fix any of it—I just, I've been thinking it through. I've been thinking it through like a psychologist."

"Spit it out." she told him.

"I know that becoming Inhuman changed me." he told her.

"And you needed a PhD to figure that out?" she asked him.

She couldn't stop herself. She loved this monster who murdered and killed. Every time she wanted to hate him, she would think back to the days before his terrigenesis, before Bahrain when they both wanted to have a family together. They would never get to have that part of their lives back. She remembered a time when they both wanted to start a loving, nurturing family and those same memories made it impossible to hate him.

"What I'm saying is—what I said before, when I said I was the same man you married—" he tried to say before she stopped him.

"That's not true. When I married you, you weren't a killer." she told him.

"I know, I know." he assuaged. "A little bit of him is in me… all the time. That was him talking."

"And there's some of you in him." she concluded.

"That allowed you to talk me down, yes. But this time, when I turn, I'm afraid I'll be gone—forever." he admitted.

She stepped closer. "If you could, _fix_ it… if you could change the past, would you?" she asked.

"Yes." Andrew sighed. "But I want this monster in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands because despite knowing my actions were wrong, I still feel like I was doing it for an important reason."

"That's the monster talking again." she spat.

"Maybe, but I feel like he's fighting for a cause that we don't understand yet." he told her. "And I don't know, you might need him." He still had the ability to calm her down. She still couldn't resist the way that his presence brought out a sense of calm and relief in her.

"I have to go check on something. I'll be back in twenty minutes or so." she told him. She walked out quickly, locking the cell behind her and practically ran to one of the storage rooms nearby. She was lying. She didn't have anything to check on or any mission to go on. She needed time to be alone—she needed to cry.

* * *

 **Percy Jackson**

Percy saw everything from Coulson's office. He was waiting there and through the feed had seen everything that had happened in the cell. However, they hadn't been able to hear what was going on. Phil wanted to give May at least a modicum of privacy. The feed switched to the Transia Corporation's surveillance.

He walked out of the office and headed down to the holding cells. He needed to make sure that Dr. Garner didn't hurt Melinda. As he approached the cell, he picked up a tablet from the guards' station. He used the security cameras to pan around the hallway and cells. Melinda wasn't here.

He decided that he'd go pay Dr. Garner a visit. He went down to where Cell 5's blast door was and he opened it. It hissed itself open revealing Dr. Garner looking at him in confusion. He walked in and locked the door behind him, and making sure to lock the tablet so it couldn't be accessed unless a password was given.

"Who are you?" Garner asked him backing away. At that moment, Percy realized that he had taken to wearing his gear and weapons on him. He didn't have the assault rifle on him or the sword Fitz built him but his gun was still in plain sight strapped to his thigh.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Dr. Garner." he told the Inhuman raising his hands in a sign of peace. "I just wanted to make sure that Melinda was alright."

"Melinda?" the man asked.

"Yeah, you know—your ex-wife?" he told the man. He was confused.

"I know that." Garner answered. "It's just that typically, Melinda doesn't let anyone call her by her first name."

That made more sense. "Well, I'm her trainee—actually I was, given that I just got my badge." he told the man. He walked to the table and pulled up a chair to sit down.

"I didn't know that Melinda trained recruits anymore." Dr. Garner told him.

"Well, let's just say I'm not a normal recruit." he explained cryptically.

"Oh, I can feel that you're different." Garner fired back. "What I don't understand is why you feel like an Inhuman but completely different at the same time."

Ahh, so the man could access Lash's powers even when he didn't turn. "I'm not an Inhuman. I've had my powers from birth." he answered.

"That's not much of an answer." Garner commented.

"No, its not. I'd appreciate if you stop deflecting though. We're here to talk about you and Melinda, not me." he told the man frankly.

The man gave him a small smile. "You never told me who you were. I'd appreciate a name if we're gonna have this conversation." Garner told him.

"Percy Jackson." he answered.

"Well Agent Jackson, I don't think its your place to want to know about my personal conversations." the man told him with a calm tone. It was difficult to tell that this man was even capable of turning into a monster. He didn't act like it for the most part—like a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Look, I don't really care about what you think." he told the man. "What I care about is that Melinda walked out looking upset. I think that you and I both know that. So what happened?"

"Nothing happened." the psychologist sighed. "I told her that I want the monster in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody when I turn fully."

"Dr. Garner, just don't make her feel worse." he told the man. "She still loves you, even through all the bad things you've done." He got up and turned to leave. He unlocked the tablet and went to the door.

"Wait." Garner told him. "When the monster finally takes over, make sure she's okay." the man pleaded.

He turned and nodded to the psychologist.

"Thanks." the man replied. "It was nice to meet you Agent Jackson."

"It was nice to meet you too, Dr. Garner." he replied leaving the cell. He locked it behind him and made his way from the detention level quickly, trying to avoid May.

* * *

 **Melinda May**

She came out of the storage room and walked back to the holding cell. She opened the door and closed it behind her. Andrew was still where he was when she walked out of the room.

"You're back." the man said. "Finished checking on that something?" he asked her.

"Cut the crap, Andrew." she told him. She hated the fact that he could tell that she was lying.

"Fine." he told her. "I get it now though… When you were asking about if I would change things if I could, you weren't asking about becoming Inhuman."

"I was talking about us." she told him looking at her boots. If she was gonna hear the words she expected, she didn't want to face him.

"Every terrible thing that happened to you wouldn't have happened if you never met me." she explained. The IV dispenser beeped making both herself and Andrew look toward it. He took off the IV and shut off the machine.

He shifted himself on the bed and put his feet on the ground. He came toward the edge of the bed. "I wouldn't change a thing." he told her looking straight at her. She shifted her gaze. She didn't want him to see her face.

"I would." she told him.

"Well, you're still the centre of the best moments of my life." he told her. "Whether this vaccine works or not, right now—with you, here, is exactly where I'm supposed to be."

She sat down on the bench that was across from the foot of the bed. "Well, I guess now we just wait." she told him.

He gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry to have pulled you away—it looked like you guys were prepping for a mission."

"Long story." she sighed. "Though Daisy's so confident in her ability as an Inhuman that she believes she can change the future."

He gave a small chuckle. "That's funny. We're trying to do the same." he told her.

All of a sudden, he started shaking. He gave her a look, to warn her to get away. He ran from her quickly, straight into the Containment Module. The door locked shut behind him and he propped himself up against the wall of the module.

She rushed to the window and put her hand on the glass. She wanted him to feel her love for him, even through this. He joined her and put his hand on the other side of the glass.

"I love you, Melinda." he grunted in pain. Moments later, he shifted, limbs elongating and changing colour as he turned into the blue-grey form of Lash. The monster saw her and banged on the glass causing her to jump back.

Her vision became blurry and tears started to fall from her eyes. "I love you too, Andrew." she said aloud doubting that he could hear through the monster.


	10. Chapter 10

**_Rising Tides_**

 **Chapter Ten – Kill Order**

 **Percy Jackson**

That night, Percy waited for Melinda right outside of the detention level. He knew that she would need help processing all of her grief. He wondered how he himself would have felt if Annabeth had died when they had both been married and wanted a life together. Right now though, he couldn't be thinking about himself and to be honest, he preferred not to bring the past up. He should leave the Pandora's box of emotions that came with thoughts of Annabeth alone. He was conflicted by the feelings he felt. He felt a now fading longing for her and also frustration with her meddling in his life when she was dead but he still loved the girl—that he knew, and a part of him might always love her.

Melinda had finally come out of the holding cell. She walked straight past the guards' station and was making a move to walk past him if he hadn't gotten in her way. She looked up at him, misty-eyed, tears threatening to fall. He pulled her into a hug.

Usually, Melinda avoided showing much emotion in public, but this time, she reciprocated whole heartedly, grabbing his shoulders and letting out tears. He let her get some emotion out, shooting daggers at the curious guards. They went back to their work, leaving Percy to comfort the woman.

He let her out of the hug. Percy decided to lead her away from the cells and back to her quarters—at least there, she could let out her emotions in peace. When they both finally go there, Melinda sat down on her bed and Percy sat down on the chair nearby.

"We wanted to have kids, you know?" Melinda told him. "Before I went to Bahrain and found Katya, we wanted to be normal—start a family."

Percy just listened. He didn't feel like he could really say anything to comfort her. The woman lost the man she loved to something worse than death. There was no comfort that he could give her—in death, at least Dr. Garner would have been in the Underworld, safe from the monster which occupied his body. Truth be told though, Percy simply didn't know if Andrew would have made it to Hades since the man was an Inhuman.

"Melinda, it's gonna be alright. You'll see." Percy told the woman who was his closest friend at the base. "You don't have to have all the answers. There's no instruction manual for getting over this."

"In time, you'll know what to do—how to cope." Percy told her, giving her a squeeze on the shoulder and letting her be alone. He went back to his room and decided to get some sleep.

* * *

The next day, Percy had checked on Melinda and found her back in her usual routine. The difference being that while on the outside, she looked like business as usual, he could see that in her eyes, there was pain, sorrow and anger.

He decided that it was best if she healed from this on her own. He had nothing to offer her in assuaging her sorrow, nothing to say that would be a silver lining. When he met her in the hallway near the lab, they had greeted each other and May had asked him to accompany her to Phil's office.

There, he found the director not at all looking good. On the wall screen was a still of a security tape. On that still was a face that was infamous at the _Playground_ —it was Grant Ward. Both of them walked in, May first and Percy following.

"You said you killed him." Melinda told Phil.

"I did." Coulson replied.

"Well, you didn't kill him hard enough." Melinda fired back. Phil turned to give her a look of disbelief. She just turned back to the screen.

"Anyone wanna tell me what we're looking at?" Percy asked. He was pretty sure that Grant Ward was dead so how could he be walking again.

"The lab is working on that question." Phil told him. The director then turned to Melinda. "I'm sorry about Andrew." The woman's face shot toward Coulson.

"I don't wanna talk about that any more than you wanna talk about this." she said gesturing to the screen.

Phil went to take a seat at his desk. "You don't have a lot of kills like that under your belt." May commented.

"I've done my fair share." he called back.

"Not that you've enjoyed." she told him pointedly. "I would have made the same choice." May added after a pause.

"We do what we have to do." Percy added remembering his conversation with Coulson over the basketball game.

"I know the company line." Coulson told him. "I taught it to you. I just feel like right now, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s only fixing problems that we created."

"Well, the plus side—maybe I'll get a chance to kill him too." Melinda told Phil. "I'm going to the lab. I wanna find out what's happening out there with the dead being raised." Melinda told both of them before leaving. Percy went to follow.

"Wait, Percy." Coulson told him. He stopped and turned back around. "I need to ask you a favour."

"What is it?" Percy asked the director. There was little that the director couldn't do or have literally any of the thousands of people who he leaded do.

"I need you to do something for S.H.I.E.L.D. that might not be comfortable for you." Coulson revealed.

"What exactly are you asking me to do, Director?" Percy asked. He didn't know why the man was being so cryptic.

"There's a mission. It's highly classified and is a black op. That means from the start of the mission, there is no communication between the agent and S.H.I.E.L.D. I would like you to complete this assignment." Coulson told Percy.

"What's the mission?" Percy asked.

"It's a kill mission." Coulson told him. Percy hardened his expression. That didn't sit right with him.

"Look, I made it clear that killing isn't something that I'm willing to do at any time. It's a last resort and even Melinda agrees and she's been with S.H.I.E.L.D. for years." he told the man.

"Keep an open mind. You'll wanna ask me about the target." the director informed him.

"Fine." Percy spat. "Who's the target?"

"The target is Elena Chambers. British national, age 27, born and raised in London. She lives in The Heron's penthouse in the City of London Borough." the director stated.

"So, why do you want her dead?" Percy asked. "She just sounds like a rich woman."

"Ms. Chambers is Hydra's top money launderer. Her actions have directly led to the death of hundreds of people at the hands of Hydra." Phil revealed. "She's also not willing to stop. We tipped off some of our friends across the pond about her activities. They went to pay her a visit. They're dead now. You can see how she's a top priority target for S.H.I.E.L.D."

"So if I was to take her out, Hydra wouldn't have a source of money anymore?" Percy asked finally seeing why this was something important.

"No." Coulson replied. "Hydra's too big—too powerful. There would still be more money available to them, but taking her out makes them bleed hard. They would need to scramble to repair the damage done. That would expose them—which makes our job easier."

"Alright." he said. "What exactly do you want me to do? Put a bullet in her head? Ask her to divulge secrets?" he asked the director.

"No. That's not it." Coulson told Percy. "I need her to die in a way that can make her life insurance policy still valid."

"What?" Percy asked. "Is S.H.I.E.L.D. on her policy as beneficiary or something? Or is this about finding more Hydra operatives?"

"No. But several hidden members of Hydra are beneficiaries. If she dies in a way that doesn't void her policy, we can strike a major blow to Hydra—enough to cause Baron von Strucker to come out of hiding." Coulson explained.

"How exactly do you want me to kill her?" Percy asked. He had a feeling that he wouldn't like what came next though. In the back of his mind, he had already started thinking of the many possible ways that the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. would ask him to murder the woman.

The only thing that made this more bearable for Percy to hear was the fact that the woman was responsible for the deaths of hundreds, including friends of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"There's a restricted private pool as part of the penthouse." Phil told him. "I would like you to hit her on the head with a blunt object and to drown her."

Percy stayed silent for a moment. "To be clear," Percy started. "You want me to drown her using my powers and then make it look like it was a swimming accident."

Coulson nodded. Percy had thought that this would be the way that things would be.

"Fine. Just know that I don't enjoy this kind of assignment." Percy told the man. "When do you want it done?"

"Within the next week." Coulson told him. "You'll find a flight reservation and passport waiting in your room. Along with them are the keys to an apartment in the Pan Peninsula building in Canary Wharf."

Coulson walked around his office before picking up his tablet and looking at it. "Your cover is Parker Jacobs—you're an American who's parents live in London. You're returning home after a semester at UCSF." the director told him.

"Oh and about the fact that you don't like these assignments, that makes you a good agent to complete it. The last specialist we had on the team loved the assignments and also turned out to be Hydra." Coulson added.

"So you want me on this now?" Percy asked.

"I want it done as soon as possible, Agent Jackson." the director told him effectively dismissing him.

Guess that meant going to England right now. Well, if Percy was gonna be a university student returning home, he was gonna have to pack. He decided to swing by the lab on the way to his room and found Melinda at a workstation—eyes glazed over.

He waved his hand in front of her face causing her to jump as she realized someone was near. She looked at him and frowned.

"You know, if people are thinking, its rude to pull them from their thoughts." the woman deadpanned.

"Sorry. I just need some advice." he replied. Melinda immediately got up and motioned for him to follow. Both of them came to a stop when they reached a turn in the corridor.

"What's wrong?" Melinda asked him.

"Coulson has a job for me. It's a black op—a kill mission." Percy revealed.

Melinda's face hardened. "What did you tell him?" she asked.

"I told him that I would do it." he answered.

"God." the woman said shaking her head. "Coulson has no business asking a kid to go on those kinds of missions."

"I'm an agent, May. I would have to do something like this eventually." Percy told her. "Isn't that what all the specialist training was for?"

"I don't care what the specialist training was for. You were there when Coulson and I were talking about kill orders… You don't want to do this—it changes you." May told him softly.

"I can't say no. I told Coulson that I trusted him and I intend to show him that." Percy replied.

"By what, doing his dirty work?" Melinda asked harshly.

"Melinda, Phil's your friend. I'm also your friend. You don't have to choose anyone here." he told his friend. "I agreed to it. I weighed my options and agreed to it. It's not something I'll do easily, but I understand the importance of this assignment."

She stayed silent. "I need you to be sure about this." she stated after a while. "You need to be sure that this is something you are willing to do—something you are willing to live with for the rest of your life."

"I trust S.H.I.E.L.D. I'll do the mission." Percy informed her.

"Alright, then." she told him. "I'll make sure that everything works out from this end. I get that this is a black op, but if any time you feel that you want to pull out, tell me."

"Thanks, May." Percy told him. "Don't be too hard on Phil. With everything going on, cut him a little slack."

* * *

A few hours later, Percy had finished packing, making it look like he was a university student coming back home. He picked up the envelope containing his cover identity from his bed. He opened it to find a driver's license, flight reservation, bank card, credit card and passport.

In the envelope, Percy had also found the keys to an Audi. When he had gone down to the garage, Percy hit the button on the key fob and found the car that he had been assigned for the mission. The car chirped as it unlocked itself. It was a blue Audi R8 sports car which looked to be extensively customized.

He opened the trunk and put his suitcase in it shutting it behind him. When he opened the door to get in, he found a note on the dash.

It read: _This cover was expensive—make the most of it. Your return flight will leave London in one week. — Phil_

Well, he wasn't in London to be a tourist, but at least he would get to travel in comfort. Taking the note from the dash, he crushed it and threw into a trash can nearby. He got back in the car and started it. The engine roared to life. Pulling out his S.H.I.E.L.D. issued smartphone, Percy pressed a button which opened the access tunnels to the garage.

Shifting in gear, Percy drove into the tunnel and exited near the O'Shaughnessy Dam. On one side of the dam, Percy could see the _Playground's_ above ground structure masquerading as a power station office.

He supposed that if he were actually driving the speed limit, it would have taken almost four hours to get to San Francisco, but at the speed that Percy had driven across much of route, he managed to get there in two hours.

Leaving the car to the care of the valet service, Percy pulled his suitcase inside the International Departure Terminal. Once he found a British Airways counter, Percy headed there and checked in with the agent. From what he saw, the line to do so was long, but S.H.I.E.L.D. had opted to go full out for the cover meaning that he was flying business and could skip the line.

He breezed through security and customs and was now heading toward his gate. He looked for Gate A9 and found it in a few minutes. When the plane started boarding, Percy was guided by the gate agents into a separate jetway after having checked his passport and boarding pass.

He was seated on the plane's upper deck within minutes and a flight attendant came up to him.

"Mr. Jacobs, we'll be departing in about ten minutes." she informed. "Would you like anything before we depart? Drinks, Newspapers, Food?"

"Nothing." he replied. "Thanks though."

Minutes later, the pilot came on the PA system to announce their departure. "Hello everyone, I'm Captain Marie and I'll be the pilot for this flight and next to me is First Officer Patrick. Ladies and gentleman, on behalf of British Airways and Oneworld, I would like to welcome you on board BA Flight 286 from San Francisco International to London Heathrow." the woman—the plane's pilot—announced.

"We'll be taking off in a few minutes and the estimated time of arrival in London is 10:30 AM tomorrow, British Standard Time. On behalf of the crew, I wish you a nice flight and as always, thank you for choosing British Airways."

Soon, the plane was lined up with the runway and began accelerating. Soon they were at speed and the nose of the plane listen off of the ground and the tail soon followed. Within minutes, they were in the air and making banking turn to face east. As they rose turned in the right direction, they were flying over San Francisco. From here, Percy could see the Golden Gate Bridge and Transamerica Pyramid.

Soon, the plane rose above the skies of California and Percy was off. During most of the flight, Percy had chosen to use a S.H.I.E.L.D. issued tablet to read up on the woman who he was supposed to assassinate during the next week. The woman worked a day job at HMBC in Canary Wharf as a Senior Vice-President, Domestic and International Markets. From what he could see, the woman worked from ten to three at HMBC Tower in Canary Wharf—close to the S.H.I.E.L.D. apartment at which he was staying.

He was so engrossed in understanding the mission that he hadn't realized time had passed. Soon, the flight attendants were coming through the cabin with food. Percy had chosen a broiled Herefordshire beef meal paired with wine. Flying on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s dime had its benefits because the meal wasn't the usual quickly thrown together meal served on the plane—this one actually had taste.

For dessert, he had chosen an assortment of fruit. When he was finally done with his meal, a flight attendant took away the plate and asked if he needed anything. Once again, he told the attendant no and pushed a button for the seat to recline. In one of the storage pockets was a blanket in a sealed bag—he tore it open and lay it over himself falling asleep.

* * *

Ten hours after departure, Percy found himself being awoken by the smell of breakfast. As he woke from his slumber, he decided to use the restroom to brush his teeth. Coming back to his seat, he was served with a plate full of pastries and a latte.

A few hours after breakfast was served, the flight was beginning its descent into London. The plane made a few turns around the city at low altitude probably due to the line to land. He had ended up getting quite a nice view of London including views of The Shard, the London Eye and the Tower Bridge.

* * *

When the plane finally landed, Percy was incredibly happy that there was a completely separate jetway for the upper deck and that he was seated at the front of the plane. It wasn't a chore to wait for people to get off and he had made it to baggage claim pretty fast. Once he cleared customs, he headed toward the train station located below the airport. Using one of the many ticket machines, Percy used the S.H.I.E.L.D. issued Visa Card to purchase a ticket on the Heathrow Express.

Twenty minutes later, Percy was disembarking the train in Paddington Station. From there, he caught a black cab and was getting off in Canary Wharf half an hour later. Paying the driver using the credit card he had gotten, Percy took his suitcase and pulled it up to the building.

Using the key he had gotten from the envelope, Percy tapped the card attached to the key ring to a reader outside unlocking the front door of the tower. From there, he hit a button on the far wall to access the elevator and selected the penthouse. He tapped the card on a reader inside the elevator and the doors shut.

When the doors finally opened again, they revealed the most luxurious apartment Percy had ever seen. From what he could tell, the penthouse took up at least two whole floors of the building and from his vantage point, he could see the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf in front of him. The logos of HMBC, Citi, Barclays, and many more corporations were attached to the tops of the buildings.

He would have spent more time admiring the view if he hadn't needed to get to work. He needed to get surveillance on Elena Chambers as soon as he could and Percy bet that he would find something to help him in the apartment.

Five minutes later, he was proven right when he went to the upper level of the penthouse to find a room full of S.H.I.E.L.D. equipment. There was everything from weapons to surveillance equipment.

Deciding against using weapons to get to the woman, he picked up a case of bugs. It was about noon now, so Percy decided that he would try to get to the woman's office. He was supposed to be Parker Jacobs—a college student from a wealthy family. He would use that to his advantage. Using the his phone, Percy called HMBC.

"Hello, HMBC Tower, my name is Catherine. How may I help you?" A woman—Catherine—asked.

"Hi, I would like to meet with Elena Chambers—I believe that she runs the Domestic and International Markets Division at HMBC." Percy told the woman.

"I'm sorry sir, but I can't let just anyone meet with a Senior Vice-President. I could however schedule a meeting with one of our associates in Canary Wharf." she replied.

"I actually think that Ms. Chambers is going to be interested in my business. My father is a wealthy man and he wants to move his investments from his current bank to another one. I want him to take his business to HMBC but he needs to be convinced." Percy lied smoothly. "I was hoping that I could meet with Ms. Chambers to discuss the matter."

The woman on the phone stayed quiet for a moment. "I need to ask—How much money is your father looking to invest, sir?" the woman inquired.

"Well, he was looking to transfer all of his investments. That would total to about 3.4 billion US dollars." Percy lied. He was sure that this would convince the woman to get him an appointment with the woman—one of the teachings at S.H.I.E.L.D. was that when having a cover which involved wealth, flaunt it to get where you need to.

"One moment, sir." the woman replied. He was on hold for no more than two minutes before the woman came back on. "Ms. Chambers is free for ten minutes today at 12:10. She's told me to inform you that she can meet with you tomorrow for a significantly longer time, if you wish."

"No," Percy replied. "12:10 will be fine. Thank you." he told the woman.

"Alright, can I please get a name for the appointment?" the woman asked.

"Parker Jacobs." he replied.

"When you arrive at HMBC Tower, please just check in at the front desk with a piece of government-issued ID." the woman told him. "Have a nice day, Mr. Jacobs."

"Thank you, Catherine. Have a nice day as well." Percy said. This was gonna be easier than he thought.

* * *

Percy changed into a blue suit with a burgundy tie and white shirt for the meeting. He pocketed the bug case and went down to the street. From there, he navigated his way around Canary Wharf to the nearby HMBC Tower. He entered the pristine glass and steel building and headed to the front desk.

"Hi, Parker Jacobs. I have an appointment with Elena Chambers at 12:10." Percy told the man at the reception.

The man looked at his computer, clicking on a few things before looking back up to him. "Ah, Mr. Jacobs, yes. I need a piece of ID before I can send you up to Ms. Chambers' office." the man told him.

Percy pulled out the fake California driver's license that S.H.I.E.L.D. gave him and handed it to the man. The man took the driver's license flipping to its back and examining the picture. He handed Percy back the driver's license.

"Thank you, Mr. Jacobs. I'll escort you to Ms. Chambers' office. Follow me." the man told him before coming around the front desk and leading him to one of the elevators. Once inside, the man used a card key attached at his waist to activate the elevator. The man hit the button for the 39th floor.

Both of them stayed silent as they went up. Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out a bug and dropped it in his pocket for easy access. A few moments later, the doors opened to reveal a luxurious office level with executive offices around the floor's outer area. On the inner area was a smattering of desks each with different secretaries as well as a conference room.

As they exited the elevator, Percy raised his hand slightly and swiftly pulled the card from the man's waist. He pocketed it quickly not wanting to be caught. Thank the gods for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s training.

He was led to the end of the hallway into a corner office. The man opened the door for him and led him inside. Percy walked in and the man accompanying him left him the in the office. At the glass desk in front of him was a raven-haired woman. She looked up from her tablet and stood.

"Mr. Jacobs, I presume." she told him.

"Yes, Ms. Chambers." he replied shaking her hand over the desk. He used this opportunity to drop a bug in her pen cup.

"Pleased to meet you, call me Elena." she told him motioning for him to sit. He sat down unbuttoning his suit jacket and she followed.

"Would you like anything to drink? Scotch, coffee, water?" she asked.

"No, thank you." he replied. "I assume that you have been made aware of why I'm here, Elena." he said.

"Of course, Mr. Jacobs. You would like to transfer your father's investment accounts to HMBC and I was told that it was quite a sizeable sum." she replied. "Here at the Hong Kong and Macau Banking Corporation, we'll take care of the move and all the details. I can give you a run down of how we work here if you'd like."

"Actually, I've done a bit of research already and I already like what I saw. What I really need to be convinced about is the competency of your market analysts. My father wants to make more money, not loose it." he lied smoothly.

"Of course." she told him. "Our financial analysts operate in 71 different countries scattered across every inhabited continent. We have teams working around the clock to make sure that your investment continues to grow. The markets may be closed for example in London, but our analysts in Shanghai are working hard to make sure that we give you good information. We also have more diverse offerings for business, but I'm afraid that has to be discussed in person with the account holder."

Percy was pretty sure what she meant by discussed in person. She meant that the bank here, like the other multinational institutions, also partook in less than legal activities. She was basically offering to meet Mr. Jacobs in order to sell money laundering among other things. Phil was right—this woman wasn't going to change. She was too focused on making money, at the cost of people's lives.

"Of course." Percy lied. "I like to trust my gut, Elena, and you have made a wonderful impression on me. How about a meeting with my father in two days?"

"Alright, two days. I'll have one of my assistants call the line you used to contact us." she told him getting up. He once again shook her hand and turned to leave her office.

"Oh Mr. Jacobs, do wait. I can have someone escort you out or show you around the building." she told him.

"That's very nice, but I have a prior appointment. I'll show myself out." he told her. As he walked out, he pulled out his phone and went to the Near Field Communications app. Her phone had that enabled and Percy tapped a button and waited. A moment later, his phone's screen said: Override Successful. He now had access to her entire phone and whenever she connected it to a network or other electronic device, he could access that too.

He walked out, going to the elevator and pushed a button for the lobby and the 37th floor. If S.H.I.E.L.D.'s information was correct, the executives were about to go for lunch and their assistants would also be leaving the floor, leaving it unattended. When the elevator reached the 37th floor, he got out and waited a few minutes. Luckily, the 37th floor was empty already so nosy was there to ask him what he was doing.

It was now 12:30 PM and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intel said that the floor would be empty. Using the card key he stole from the receptionist, Percy activated the elevator panel and pushed the button for the 39th floor. When he got there and the doors opened, he found the floor to be empty.

He headed toward Elena's office and used the key card to get himself inside. Once there, he swiftly headed for her desk's drawers hoping to find keys. Once he opened them, he found what he was looking for—house keys. That would make his job easier.

Just like the S.H.I.E.L.D. apartment he was staying in, there were keys and a key card. He pulled out his phone and used the NFC app to clone the key card. Once that was done, he used the 3D Scanner app to copy the key. He hit a button on his phone and a replica of the kay would be printing in his apartment in Canary Wharf.

He was putting everything back where he had found it when he thought about hacking her computer. He would be able to find out what exactly Hydra had been up to. He was debating whether to break mission parameters or not and in the end, he decided that having intel about Hydra was worth it.

He once again used his phone to break into her office computer. He hit a button and a script ran, disabling the security on the office computer. Soon, he had access to the files there and began to copy everything to a remote server. The phone displayed a status bar as it cloned every file to a S.H.I.E.L.D. server. Luckily for him, it was going pretty fast and soon, the bar showed 100% before disappearing. He shut off her office computer and took one last look around to make sure that everything was in its place. He walked out and got in the elevator and hit the button for the lobby.

Minutes later, Percy was walking out of the elevator and past the busy front desk. He discretely threw the stolen key card near the front desk where the man might find it again. Percy walked out of the building and went straight back to the apartment. Once there, he changed into sweats and a T-shirt and sat himself down at the computer.

He entered his credentials into the computer and the interface changed from the regular iMac layout and into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s more complex one. He navigated his way around multiple servers and finally accessed the documents he stole from HMBC.

Looking through them, he found multiple suspicious transactions and deals which were probably not legal. This was good, he would be able to find out what exactly Hydra had been doing. Hopefully Phil wouldn't mind that he had done this. This was supposed to be a kill op, but given that yesterday Grant Ward seemed to have come back to life, he wanted to know every detail he could about Hydra.

He scrolled through more files finding some documents detailing something about Helicarrier 64. That caught his attention. What would Hydra be doing with files about a destroyed Helicarrier?

Going through the documents, Percy furrowed his eyebrows. This wasn't possible—Helicarrier 64 wasn't listed as destroyed in these files. It was listed as missing. How does one lose a flying aircraft carrier?

He tried to look for more information but the trail ended there. Hydra had only found out this much and hadn't been able to find anything else. He moved on to the other files, making a mental note to ask Phil about Helicarrier 64. When he went through the other files, he found one talking about a sceptre.

It was in the _Krepost' Novi Grad_. That was an Eastern European language. Percy opened a window of satellite imaging and typed in 'Novi Grad'. Immediately, the satellite image shifted to show a city in a country called Sokovia.

He panned around the map and found a fortress nearby. Fortress… maybe that's what _Krepost'_ meant… To verify his hunch, Percy opened the translator app and typed in _Krepost' Novi Grad_ and listed the language as Sokovian. A few moments later, the results came back listing 'Fortress of New City' as the result.

What was so important about the sceptre that Hydra had? Why was it being stored in a nation so far away from anything else? Percy decided to do some more research about Sokovia. Maybe he could find out what was happening there.

After a few hours of research, Percy compiled his information. Sokovia was an former Soviet state and Eastern European country located North of the Alps and nestled between the borders of Austria and the Czech Republic, close to Germany's border.

The capital of the small nation was a city known as Novi Grad and this constituted the majority of its population. The rest of the country was made up of a few small towns and villages located in the mountain valley that made up Sokovia. All in all, the tiny nation was one constantly ravaged by civil war ever since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Now Percy understood. What better place for Hydra to occupy than a country where violence is habitual and where the outside world has little influence. A perfect place for Hydra to put its tentacles in.

By now, it was evening in London and Percy decided that he would eat and then nap. He would be going after Elena tonight. He wasn't going to wait—he needed to find out more about Hydra's plans and this woman was his ticket to that.

* * *

It was 11:00 PM British Standard Time when he woke up from his nap. He got dressed quickly and dressed in a suit. He needed to look like he belonged in the Heron. Going out, he picked up his phone and the cloned key that had already printed.

From Canary Wharf, he used the Tube's Jubilee Line at Canary Wharf Station and headed to London Bridge Station. There, he switched onto the Northern Line and stopped at Moorgate Station.

From Moorgate, it was a short walk to the Heron, where Elena lived. The Heron had private security patrolling the lobby and did video sweeps of the floors and outside areas. Using his phone, he used a signal scrambler to put the surveillance cameras on a loop. It was safe to go in.

He held his phone over the proximity sensor outside the front doors and the door clicked open. He went inside, making sure to avoid looking at the guards at the front desk and pushed the button for the elevator.

A few seconds later, the elevator opened and he entered quickly, once again using his phone to activate it. He pressed the button for the penthouse and waited as it took him to her floor.

Once the elevator doors opened, Percy made sure to be extremely silent. He quietly walked into Elena's home and looked around. Nobody was on the first floor. He went up to the second floor. If the building plans S.H.I.E.L.D. had obtained were correct, then the pool would be near the master bedroom.

From the stairs, Percy could see that the lights outside were turned on. He quickly took a peek out the floor-to-ceiling windows that spanned the right wall. From this vantage point, he could see someone in the pool.

This would make his job easier. He wouldn't need to drag around a body. He rose from his position and went to the door which led to the pool deck. He moved swiftly and waited till the woman in the pool got out. He needed to have a positive ID of Elena before executing the kill order.

The woman had her back facing Percy and was getting out of the pool by using the ladder on the opposite side of the pool. When she got out, she turned to get her towel and saw Percy.

She wore a shocked expression and was about to cry out when Percy used his powers. He concentrated and the water from the pool rose and encased her, silencing Elena. The water dragged her under and smashed her head against the pool wall. Crack. Percy could hear this through the water.

He let go of the water and waited. He used his powers to sense the blood flow in her body to find none. Elena Chambers was dead. Percy killed her in less than three minutes. He was stuck in his spot still processing his actions when the adrenaline kicked in.

He needed to finish looking around this woman's apartment and get the hell out of here. He went back inside quickly, avoiding looking at the body, and turned to the woman's study. There, he found a laptop which he turned on and connected to his phone. Using his phone, he disabled the security protocols and infiltrated the system.

He dumped the contents of the laptop onto a secure S.H.I.E.L.D. server and got out quickly. He went back down to the lobby and exited quickly. He pulled out his phone and shut off the signal scrambler and went down to the Tube.

He headed straight to the apartment in Canary Wharf and took his bags. He didn't feel like staying in London any longer and he knew that the intel he gathered needed to be at S.H.I.E.L.D. as soon as possible. He caught a cab to Paddington Station where he took the Heathrow Express train.

Once he got to the airport, he headed straight to a counter agent, who moved him onto a flight leaving for San Francisco in two hours. He left his bag at the drop off counter and had gone through security. From there, he boarded his plane and went to bed just as the plane took off.

* * *

When he woke up, the plane was still flying over the Central United States and breakfast was being served. He ate quickly for this meal and was anxious to get back to the _Playground_. He really needed to speak with Coulson.

Three daunting hours later, Percy was on the ground in San Francisco and had cleared customs. After having gotten his bag and paying for the parking, Percy collected the Audi R8 and drove to the _Playground_. And by drove to the _Playground_ , he meant raced there hoping not to cause an accident.

Two hours later, Percy stopped near the tunnel which lead to the _Playground's_ garage. Using his phone, he clicked a button to open the doors only to find them not opening. He hit the button a few times again and the same thing occurred.

Something was wrong. S.H.I.E.L.D. took great care of their facilities and garage tunnel couldn't just be broken. He got out of the car and went up to the large blast door. He looked for the manual override.

Once he found the lever, Percy pulled it and used all of his strength to move the heavy doors. Luckily, Percy was a demigod and that came with some perks. It meant that he was stronger than the average human and could manage, although struggling, to pry open tunnel doors.

Once they were open, he drove the car into the tunnel and went about the task of closing the door behind him. After all, an open door into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret headquarters didn't enforce the idea of a secret headquarters.

As he drove through the tunnel, he could see that lights were out in some places and that there was some small rock debris on the road. This didn't sit right with Percy. It looked like there had been an earthquake here, but he didn't remember any news channel talking about an earthquake in California, so what happened?

* * *

When he finally had entered the garage, he saw that the base was truly a mess. Everywhere, agents were digging out equipment and were repairing the base. He got out of the car quickly and dropped his bag off in his room. He was still wearing a suit, but he didn't care. Something had obviously happened and he needed to make sure that everyone was okay.

Going to the director's office, he found Coulson and Melinda in his office, both of them not looking well. Melinda had a few cuts on her face that were still healing and the director was using a cane to stand.

Both of them were looking at the screen which showed live feeds of raids across the nation. He could also see multiple F-35s flying over compounds. A seamless operation began with the jets launching their payloads and raids occurring in other places. Within minutes, the screens showed army soldiers evacuating themselves from the raids and explosions being set off.

"What the hell happened while I was gone?" Percy said unable to stop himself.

The two turned around so quickly that he thought they would get whiplash. They had identical expressions of confusion on their faces.

"You're supposed to be in London." Phil stated. "What are you doing here?"

"Elena's taken care of. I wanted to come back early because of what I found out." he told them.

"And what exactly did you find out?" Melinda asked.

"What Hydra's been working on. They've been storing a weapon in Sokovia as well as looking for a Helicarrier." he told the two. Phil tensed up immediately. Percy noticed that, but chose to say nothing for now.

"Why would Hydra be looking for a Helicarrier? They've all been destroyed." Melinda stated.

"I don't know, but I think that I should debrief Percy on what happened here before he writes up his mission report." Phil said before either he or Melinda could talk.

"Alright, when you're done being weird, Phil, we'll talk. I'll see you later, Percy." Melinda said walking out. It seemed that she got the hidden undertones of Phil's words.

"So, you wanna tell me what happened here?" Percy asked.

* * *

Half an hour later, Percy was trying to process what was going on. The things that Coulson told him shouldn't even be possible. What the hell happened? He was gone for two days and the base was half destroyed with an agent compromised.

"So, there's an alien thing out there who's called Hive and walks around in Grant Ward's body?" Percy stated. "And that thing also has weird mind controlling powers which only work on Inhumans and Daisy tried to level the _Playground_?"

"Is that a question or a statement?" Phil asked dryly.

"Still working on that." he quipped. "I really shouldn't be surprised though. I've dealt with crap that's probably just as weird as this or worse even."

"Yeah, well, this is S.H.I.E.L.D. We have a broad job description." Phil replied.

"You can say that again." Percy said. "You wanna tell me why what I found about Hydra is a secret? And don't try to lie because I've noticed that you have been withholding information for a while, Coulson. So what exactly is happening out there?"

Coulson stayed silent before sighing. "Alright, you already know too much for me to lie anyway, so I'll just tell you. Change and meet me at the hangar. We're taking a quinjet so you can see Theta Protocol." Phil told him cryptically.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Percy had changed from the suit into his normal S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform which was the tactical suit he wore on missions. He headed toward the hangar and saw Phil waiting near a quinjet. They both boarded the plane and soon, the quinjet headed North for Canada. The flight was quiet with both Phil and Percy not wanting to talk. Two hours later, they were somewhere over the Rockies and were descending into a valley.

As they descended, the ground below shifted to reveal a massive hangar located below them. This one was the largest that Percy had ever seen. Larger than the hanger at the _Glacier_ and the _Playground_. The quinjet landed and it's doors opened to reveal the largest hangar bay he'd ever seen. People were bustling around and cranes were moving equipment looking like they were getting ready for a mission.

"This is the Theta Protocol Facility." Coulson told him as they exited the quinjet. "It is one of the largest facilities S.H.I.E.L.D. has in operation and is one of the busiest."

As they walked from the quinjet, what Percy saw in front of him made him stop in his tracks. In front of him was Helicarrier 64—not missing or destroyed, but fully staffed and being loaded with quinjets and supplies.

"Theta Protocol is one that is designed as a safety net for humanity in case of disaster. We can mobilize this Helicarrier to anywhere in the world. It's meant as backup for the Avengers, who took over dealing with disaster since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D." Phil told him as they went to a movable platform than ran the length of the aircraft carrier.

"What the hell, Phil!?" Percy said dumfounded. "You've been hiding a freaking Helicarrier?!"

"Over the last months, I've been getting help here—gathering former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents still loyal to our cause. We've been upgrading the Helicarrier and training personnel to become its new crew." Phil told him. "I didn't intend on telling anyone at the _Playground_ but I'll have to now—at least eventually."

"What the hell does that mean, Phil?" Percy asked frustrated at the secrets that Phil kept.

"I'll let Fury explain that." Coulson stated.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Rising Tides_**

 **Chapter Eleven – Penelope**

 **Percy Jackson**

"Fury? The guy who literally moved heaven and earth to bring you back?" he asked as they both stepped off of the platform and onto the Helicarrier's flight deck.

"Yep. That's the one." Coulson answered. "He's was the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. before he passed that job on to me."

They were both now silently crossing the flight deck to the large blast door that was part of the air traffic control tower. As they passed the middle of the upper deck, Percy saw numerous aircraft being moved into position onto the Helicarrier.

Quinjets were being stored near the edges of the deck and on the deck below, Percy could see the lower deck being loaded with F-35s stealth fighter jets. When they both finally crossed the massive flight deck, Phil tapped a screen near the door and the door opened with a hiss.

Both of them walked into the airlock and the large blast door sealed behind them. Moments later, the airlock door in front of them opened to reveal a long corridor. Coulson led them both alone, occasionally encountering agents who greeted the director.

When they finally reached the an elevator at the end of the hallway, Coulson entered and Percy followed. The director hit a button on the large touchscreen in the elevator panel labelled 'Bridge & Operations Level'. The elevator doors closed and within seconds opened once more revealing a different level from the one they came from.

"How big is this thing?" Percy asked.

"It's almost 450 metres long and weighs over 100 000 tonnes. It's original capacity for troops was 2500, but I requested that we bring that down, so we can have more room." Coulson told him. "It's honestly so big that I haven't even seen all of it yet."

"Huh." Percy huffed. "I bet the U.S. Navy would love to get their hands on one of these."

"Yep." Coulson answered going down a long corridor. Finally, Percy could see the end of these seemingly endless halls. This one had translucent glass doors at the end. As they approached, the doors swung open on their own revealing the most advanced bridge Percy had ever seen.

"Holy Hera." Percy gaped. This place made Zephyr One look like a dump. As they walked in, Percy could see a tall, imposing black man wearing a black leather trench coat at what he assumed was the helm of this boat.

They went down a few stairs, past a large table, and a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the floor to the man. As they approached the man turned around, revealing that he wore an eyepatch.

"Coulson, you got yourself a new recruit there." Fury remarked. "You wanna tell me what he's doing in a restricted facility?"

"Nick, nice to see you too." Phil said sarcastically. Fury didn't look amused.

"Okay, Percy, this is Colonel Nicholas Fury, United States Army veteran, ex-CIA and the previous Director of S.H.I.E.L.D." Coulson introduced. "Nick, this is Percy Jackson—he's the demigod. The Son of Poseidon and now Level 8 Specialist."

The ex-director of S.H.I.E.L.D. surveyed him for a moment. The man's gaze seemed to always be set in a glare, but that didn't faze him. He dealt with gods, surely he could deal with Nick Fury.

"He doesn't look like much." Fury commented after a while.

"And respectfully, sir, you don't look dead." Percy replied calmly. Coulson just stared at Percy in shock. It would seem that everyone, including the current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. knew not to disrespect Fury.

"Never mind, Coulson." Fury said after a while. "I like this one."

There was a long silence before the director began speaking again. "Do we know how far along the retrofit is?" Coulson asked Fury.

"Everything should be done within the next two weeks." Fury told Coulson. "Hill gave me her report. The power plant has been completely replaced, the engines repaired and the superstructure has been redesigned for lifeboats. Those are being assembled and loaded as we speak."

"What about the crew? Did we manage to get them all back?" Coulson asked.

"We did manage to track down some more S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. We don't have the complete original crew." Fury said with a shake of his head. "There was a lot of Hydra in the ranks. We should have a crew of about 1500 though, more than enough to do every job on this boat."

"Good thing a lot of the agents were doing redundant positions then." Coulson replied.

"Why exactly are you hiding this, Phil?" Percy asked the question that he had been holding on to.

It was Fury who answered. "The reason why _Theta Protocol_ isn't public is because the Avengers don't know about Project T.A.H.I.T.I. Informing the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. about this Helicarrier means that the chance of an information leak increases."

Percy was about to speak up when Phil interrupted him. "Trust me, Percy. The Avengers not knowing is in their best interest right now—which means that S.H.I.E.L.D. not knowing is in everyone's best interest right now. It's not going to be like this forever, just for now."

"Alright, I understand. Just know that I don't like it." Percy conceded. "I guess you can take me back to the _Playground_ now, Phil."

"Not exactly." Fury told him.

"What do you mean, sir?" Percy asked in confusion.

"I'll let you handle this. I'll be in my office." Fury told Coulson before leaving. Percy immediately turned back to face Phil.

"What Fury meant by that was that I'm reassigning you to _Theta Protocol_." Coulson revealed. "I talked to Fury before we came here and told him that you already knew about the Helicarrier. He told me that given you were a powered individual, you would be an asset to _Theta Protocol_."

"What exactly do you want me to do here, Phil? I haven't exactly been trained to work on an aircraft carrier." Percy told the director.

"I'm assigning you here because this Helicarrier is going to be filled with some of the best that S.H.I.E.L.D. has to offer. You are part of that group." Coulson told him. "I saw how you worked in Russia, how you acted in the Playground and how you used your abilities when we rescued May."

"Phil, working here looks awesome, but I like S.H.I.E.L.D." Percy told the man. "I'm not giving it up to become an Avenger."

"I'm not asking you to become an Avenger. In fact, I think that its best that you continue being a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent." Coulson explained. "I'm just asking you to work _with_ the Avengers and Fury, instead of at the _Playground_."

The look on Coulson's face was sympathetic, but there was an undertone of finality in it. That meant that the decision had already been made. He would be working here, not at the _Playground_.

"Alright. Where do I go then?" Percy sighed.

* * *

Turns out, he needed to meet with Fury. Coulson told him that his assignment to _Theta Protocol_ would not be official until two weeks later. In the meantime, he had been ordered to meet with Nick Fury to give a mission report on his actions in London. Phil would meet him back on the flight deck when he was done with his meeting. After being directed to a room, Percy knocked on the metal door.

The door swung open on its own to reveal a large office where Fury sat at a metal table. The table itself was some kind of computer panel and the metal walls around the room were filled with screens showing different feeds.

"You know, I used to hate this room." Fury told him as he walked in. "It used to be where the World Security Council would nag me. Luckily Coulson thought it best to make it into my office."

"How nice of him." Percy said dryly.

"Sit, Agent Jackson." Fury commanded. He did as asked and sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk, across from the former director.

"So, tell me about your assignment in London." the man ordered.

"Well, two days ago, I was given the assignment to dispose of Elena Chambers quietly. I flew to London on a flight that S.H.I.E.L.D. booked and went to a S.H.I.E.L.D. property. At the apartment, I found gear and thought that I might as well get surveillance on her before I would act."

"But you acted on the same day?" Fury questioned.

"Yes. I infiltrated HMBC Tower using my cover and I was able to gain access to her office. When she was away, I decrypted her computer and dumped the data on S.H.I.E.L.D. servers." he told the colonel. "I got back the apartment and reviewed the files. I decided that I needed to act as soon as possible, so that night, I snuck into her building and went up to her penthouse. She was swimming when I got there and I used my powers to drown her."

"And then what?" the colonel asked.

"Then, I went to her home computer and I broke into its hard drive. I recovered all of her files and went straight to the airport. I knew from the information at HMBC that there was something else going on, so I thought that S.H.I.E.L.D. should know." Percy answered.

There was a long silence after this with Fury just studying him. "Alright. Tell me about the information you found on her computer." Fury said.

"I found information about Hydra looking for a missing Helicarrier—which I assume is this one—as well as information on a sceptre of some kind." he told the man.

Fury's expression changed drastically. "Sceptre? Loki's Sceptre?" the colonel asked.

"I don't know." Percy replied. "All I know is that there were files detailing that a sceptre was in the Fortress of Novi Grad, in Sokovia."

At this, the man's eyes widened before Fury got his face back into a neutral mask. That meant that it was more than likely that the sceptre Percy read about was actually Loki's Sceptre from the Chitauri Invasion.

"You are to report here in two weeks, Agent Jackson. You might want to consider bringing a bag of clothes, both civilian and official as well as having your equipment moved here." Fury told him.

"Yes sir." he replied getting up. "I just have one question. What exactly do I call you? You are no longer the director."

"Either Fury or Colonel Fury." the man replied in a tone that meant goodbye. So Percy decided to get out of there and leave the man to himself.

* * *

When he was back topside, he saw Phil waiting at the edge of the Helicarrier near the movable platform that stood near the edge. He quickly made his way across the upper flight deck and went on the platform. The platform began moving back to the quinjet bays soon after.

"So, how was your meeting with Fury?" Phil asked.

"He asked about the mission. Specifically about Loki's Sceptre." he replied.

Phil nodded. "That's something that is a top priority for S.H.I.E.L.D. We can't have alien technology sitting in the hands of humanity again. Even Fury agreed with me." Coulson revealed.

"Are you going to assign a mission to recover it, given that its apparently in Sokovia?" Percy asked.

"No." the director said shaking his head. "S.H.I.E.L.D., or at least the vast majority of it, will stay as far away as possible. When this Helicarrier is deployed in two weeks, I'll have Hill tell the Avengers to handle it."

"The Avengers? Aren't they all separated?" Percy asked.

"No. They've been back together for more than a month now. I started giving Hill some intel to feed them. They've been working on taking out Hydra, just like us." Coulson revealed.

The platform had finally gotten back to the quinjet bays. They both stepped off and boarded the quinjet. As they both strapped in, the quinjet took off and left the facility. They would be arriving at the Playground in two hours where Percy would get his stuff in order. He would be deployed in two weeks to an assignment.

"What exactly will the team be told when I'm gone?" Percy asked Phil breaking the silence.

"For now, its that you're going on another black-op. One classified at Level 9—nobody at the base except for me has clearance for those missions so nobody will be asking questions. Besides, we're too busy at the moment for them to read too much into it." Coulson informed him.

"Daisy and Hive." Percy stated. "Are you sure you don't want my help? With Daisy compromised and Hive on the loose, won't you need a specialist or a demigod?"

Coulson sighed. "Percy, your assignment is at the Helicarrier. I know that you're worried about us, but we've gone through worse—we'll figure this one out too."

* * *

Two hours later, Percy was looking out the front of the quinjet to see them descend into the _Playground's_ hangar. As soon as the plane touched down, the rear doors opened which led to Phil and Percy getting up from their seats.

As soon as they exited the quinjet, they were met with the face of Melinda May who didn't look happy. The trip there and back had taken four hours, so she was probably pissed about the fact that they dropped off the grid for that time.

"Where the hell were you two?!" Melinda asked angrily.

"I was getting Agent Jackson here acquainted with his newest assignment." Phil answered cooly.

"We're gonna have a discussion about that later." the woman promised the director. "For now, you have to deal with what happened when you were unreachable."

"What exactly happened?" Phil asked as he went to his office. Both Percy and Melinda followed the director as he walked the halls of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"We tracked down a lead that Simmons gave us. It didn't pan out. The guy we're looking for was kidnapped by Daisy." Melinda told them.

"What?!" Percy asked, shocked.

"Yeah. She graduated from destroying S.H.I.E.L.D. bases to kidnapping scientists in Romania." Melinda told him.

"Is that all?" Coulson asked. "Because I have a feeling it gets worse."

By now, they were all in the director's office and Phil was sitting down at his desk. Percy and Melinda just stood on the other side of his desk.

"Kree reapers came down to earth." Melinda told them. "They're Kree assassins that hunt down the Inhumans—the Kree's failed experiments." She explained when she was Percy's confused look.

"And where are those reapers now?" Coulson asked in a serious tone.

"Dead. She killed one and Mack was forced to kill the other. They want to use the Kree's blood to infect people with Inhuman DNA." she explained.

"Is there anything else?" Percy asked. It seemed like Daisy was dangerously unhinged if she was kidnapping people and now supporting genetic experimentation.

"Daisy attacked Mack… He's in the infirmary. He won't be fit for duty for a while." she told them sombrely.

"Shit." Percy cursed. "What are we gonna do?"

The director seemed to contemplate that for a moment. "Nothing. We don't know much else, I assume, so there isn't a plan for this." Coulson told him. "We will gather more intel and then we'll see what we should do."

Coulson turned to Percy. " _You_ , on the other hand are not assigned to this op. I assigned you to _Theta Protocol_ —you _will_ report to your assignment in two weeks."

"Yes, sir." Percy sighed. Sometimes, he really hated the fact that he had to listen to the director. He knew that it was probably for the best, but it brought back some bad memories of being a slave to the will of the Olympians.

"Hold it." May interrupted. " _Theta Protocol_? S.H.I.E.L.D. protocols are alphanumeric, not named."

" _Theta Protocol_ is classified Level 9, May. Percy is assigned to the op, but you know that both he and I can't divulge anything." Phil told her.

"Level 9?" she asked looking at Percy. "Percy is has a Clearance Level of 8. He isn't authorized to even see Level 9 mission briefings, never mind actually participating on a Level 9 op."

Melinda's stare was starting to make him anxious. He didn't want to lie to her—she was one of the few people he really trusted at S.H.I.E.L.D.

"His clearance is being raised for this mission only." Phil told her. "The board and a few consultants agree that Percy is best suited for the mission and will be part of _Theta Protocol_. The board didn't contest my decision to grant Percy authorization to _Theta Protocol_."

"So this is a secret mission again?" she asked rhetorically.

Phil didn't answer and neither did Percy. "Why do I even bother?" May complained.

"Both of you are dismissed." the director told them before going to the paperwork on his desk. Percy and May just walked out of his office and headed to the lounge.

* * *

"Phil's been assigning you a lot of secret missions lately." Melinda commented as they arrived at the lounge.

"Yeah, I guess." Percy replied sitting down on the couch.

"You wanna tell me what _Theta Protocol_ actually is?" Melinda asked. "Because I don't think that it exists."

Percy turned to her. "Trust me, it exists." he told her remembering the massive Helicarrier at the facility.

"I'm guessing that you'll be keeping this secret from me as well." she said.

"May…" he started. "You know I don't want to keep secrets. You know that I don't like doing things like this, but this one, it's a secret that's needed."

"Fine." the woman sighed. There was a long silence between them as they both struggled with their own thoughts.

"So, how's your mom?" Melinda asked, changing the conversation.

"She's great. She's gonna give birth to my sister soon." Percy told Melinda. "I've been thinking about going to visit her, now that I don't have S.H.I.E.L.D. after me and I don't have my stupid demigod scent."

"That's a good idea—to visit your mother. She probably misses you." Melinda commented.

"Yeah. I'm thinking about going so to New York before my assignment to _Theta Protocol_ is official." he told Melinda.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "It's just an op, right?"

Percy knew what she was doing. "Melinda… Phil already told you all that you can know about _Theta Protocol_. Stop fishing." he told her.

"Alright." she sighed.

After that, both of them stayed quiet and decided to watch TV. It had been a while since any one of the two had watched any TV. It wasn't exactly easy for them to do normal things when the world seemed to fall apart at the seams. After this, Percy had decided to go to bed while Melinda went to the lab to check up on FitzSimmons.

* * *

The next day, Percy woke up and decided that he would see the director for a favour. After having showered, brushed his teeth and eaten, he headed to the director's office. The door was wide open—something that occurred a lot recently due to all the stuff that had been happening. He entered and found the director at his desk and for once, his office wasn't full of agents running missions or delivering briefings.

"Hey." Percy greeted. The director looked up from his tablet and motioned for him to sit.

"Hello." Coulson told him. "Is there anything I can help you with?" Coulson asked.

"Well… its been almost five months since I've been at S.H.I.E.L.D. and its been that long since I've been home." Percy said. "I've been hoping that you might give me some time off so that I could go see my family."

"Of course." Coulson responded. "I can give you a week of leave. I would give you more, but _Theta Protocol_ is a priority."

"Thanks." Percy told the director. "I understand."

"Alright then," Phil told him. "You can go to the hangar anytime you want today and a quinjet will be there to take you to New York. From there, a Stark Industries car will come to pick you up and drive you to where you need to go."

"Thank you, sir. It means a lot to me that I can go see my parents for a bit." Percy thanked.

"What kind of director would I be if I didn't allow my agents to go see their families?" Coulson joked.

He was walking out when he realized something. He stopped and turned back to the director. "I might need help with something else though." he told Phil. "When I first came to S.H.I.E.L.D., I told my parents that I was recruited by the FBI. I kind of need a cover."

"Go see Fitz. He can give you a badge and sidearm." Coulson told him. "You might want to dress differently though. Here at S.H.I.E.L.D., we might not care that you walk around in tactical gear, but I'm pretty sure that FBI Agents prefer suits."

* * *

Percy had immediately gone down to the lab and had sought out Fitz. The engineer was currently working with Jemma on trying to figure out a vaccine for Inhumans so that they could be shielded from Hive's control.

"Fitz." Percy called. "Coulson told me to come and see you about a badge and a sidearm."

The engineer turned from his lab bench and walked over to a black storage crate. "FBI Badge, right?" Fitz asked.

"Yeah. And a standard issue sidearm too." Percy told him.

The engineer walked to him with a badge and ID in one hand and a Glock 17 in the other. He knew that while S.H.I.E.L.D. preferred to use compact handguns, federal agents were issued larger Glock 17s instead ever since the switch the feds made from the Glock 22.

"The badge is real and if someone goes looking, it will pull up a file for an Agent Jackson." Fitz told him. "As for the gun, it's loaded with lethal rounds, not the S.H.I.E.L.D. I.C.E.R. rounds."

The engineer gave him the gun and badge before leaving to go back to his station and going back to his research.

"Thanks, Fitz." he called as he left the lab.

He headed straight for his quarters and got changed into one of the suits that Melinda had ordered him from his stay in Vancouver. He made sure to pack a suitcase with clothes for a week and packed two other suits just in case he needed to impersonate an FBI Agent. Soon after, he dropped by the lounge where Melinda was eating.

"I'm going to New York, to see my parents." he told her. "I'll be gone for the week."

"That's great, Percy." she said warmly. "I hope that you'll get to be there when your sister is born."

She got up from her seat and gave him a hug before going back to her place. "Don't worry about us here, we'll be fine." she assured.

He nodded and went back to his room to pick up his suitcase, badge and sidearm. He had picked up a holster from the armoury and had attached the holster at his waist. Percy headed straight for the hanger where, just like Phil promised, a quinjet was waiting for him.

* * *

The flight to New York had lasted three hours and the quinjet touched down on the roof of an abandoned warehouse in Queens. It was now four or five in the evening on the East Coast. He carried his suitcase with him down to the ground where he was met by a face that he hadn't seen in almost half a year.

It was the woman who was with Melinda when she had interrogated him. A woman who he now knew to be Maria Hill—Assistant Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

* * *

"Assistant Director Hill." Percy said as he went up to her car.

"Agent Jackson." she greeted. "Nice to see that you chose to join S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Well, I had to make a choice and I think I made a pretty good one." he replied as he stowed his bag in the trunk of the black SUV. He got into the car's rear seats and Maria sat next to him.

"58 West 9th Street. Greenwich Village." Maria called to the driver of the car.

"Yes ma'am." the driver responded. The car started and the driver drove them around Queens. They soon turned onto Queens Boulevard and Percy could see the Queensboro Bridge get closer as they drove.

"I've been made aware by Colonel Fury that you will be a part of _Theta Protocol_ , Agent Jackson." Maria stated.

"That's right." he replied. "Is there a reason that Coulson is so insistent that I be assigned there?"

The woman gave him a strange look before understanding came on her face. "I keep on forgetting that you haven't been at S.H.I.E.L.D. long enough to know about what happened on Helicarrier 64." she told him.

"What happened on that carrier?" Percy asked the woman. Theoretically, there shouldn't be much that he didn't have access to at S.H.I.E.L.D., but its not like he had the time to actively search S.H.I.E.L.D.'s archives.

"Back before the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., that Helicarrier was used as a mobile base to look for Loki. Loki used his powers to attack the ship and he nearly sent it crashing into the earth." Maria told him. "The carrier may be heavily armed and manned by capable agents, but it is vulnerable to people who have powers—people like you."

"So, what? I'm insurance?" he asked frowning.

"No." the woman replied. "You're the security detail to the over 1000 souls who work on that carrier."

That made him quiet. He thought that it had been irrational that Coulson feared something so much that he assigned Percy to be a guard dog. Now, with Hill telling him the events before the Battle of New York, he saw things differently. He understood why it Coulson would be worried. There were so many bad people who had access to immense power—with a flick of a thumb, many of them could murder hundreds.

* * *

"We're here, ma'am." the driver told Maria. The Assistant Director opened the door and got out of the car. Percy followed using the other door. The trunk was open and he picked up his suitcase.

"Good luck, Agent Jackson. The toughest and worse lies are the ones we tell to those we love." Maria advised before getting back in the car and presumably driving to Stark Tower.

He just stood at the curb looking at where his parents lived now. This was Greenwich Village, one of the most sought after places on earth to live. S.H.I.E.L.D. had made coming with them worth it. Paul and his mom could live in comfort and every expense they had was being paid off by S.H.I.E.L.D. As he walked to the door, he told himself his cover in his head.

 _I am an FBI Agent, I work for the FBI's National Security Branch._

Maria was right though, the hardest lies would be the ones he told to his family. They would take the most effort and would have the worse toll on him.

He knocked on the door and moments later, Paul's surprised expression greeted him. His stepfather darted out and pulled him into a hug. He let go of his bag and gave Paul a hug. He hadn't seen his stepfather in almost five months and it was good to be back with his family, even if it was only for a week.

When Paul finally let go of him, his stepfather had tears in his eyes and looked at him up and down. "You've grown, Percy." his stepfather told him. "And you look better than before—stronger too."

Percy smiled. He smiled his actual honest smile. Not the fake one he learned from his day with Sharon in Vancouver. "It's Quantico. They made sure that I was as fit as possible before they let me have a badge." he told Paul. Sure, it was a lie, but seeing his stepfather's face change from the worry that it had been when he'd last seen him was worth it.

Even if he managed to call every once in a while, the calls got shorter and farther apart as he stayed at S.H.I.E.L.D. It wasn't his mom's fault or even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s. It was just that he was busy with training and going on missions.

"Come in." Paul told him. Paul even pulled in his suitcase while he was busy thinking. He stepped into the townhouse and was greeted by luxurious foyer. In the middle of the room was a small, round table with a vase of flowers on it. Pictures were also on the table and some paintings were on the wall.

While he knew that the pictures were his mom's work, the paintings must have been part of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s decoration. He assumed that because it was supposed to be a home inhabited by the rich, it needed to look the part.

He could see a staircase leading upstairs and Paul left his bag near the stairs and gestured for him to follow. Percy followed Paul into a hallway that led past the spacious living room and dining room and into the kitchen. From where he was, he could see his mother sitting back on a lounge chair in the home's small backyard. She was reading on her tablet and didn't seem to notice that Paul let him in.

Paul opened the door leading outside and Percy followed his stepfather through it. His mom looked up and saw him. She broke into tears and put down her tablet on the table next to her.

Percy made it to her before she got up and gave her a hug. His mother held him tight and cried. He could see that his mother was about to give birth soon. Her belly which had only been a bit round before had now become much more pronounced and if he was right with his math, it was nearing the nine month mark of her pregnancy.

"You're back." she stated once she let go.

"I'm back." he repeated. He smiled at his mother as she wiped her tears away. "I asked my boss for some time off. He agreed to let me come for a week."

"Only for a week?" Paul questioned.

"Yeah, only for a week. I already graduated from Quantico and they have me on assignments. One week was all the time I could get." he told his family.

"Well, let's not let that keep us down." his mom told him. "We can make the most of this week."

"Definitely." he replied.

* * *

An hour later, Percy was in his new room as he unpacked his stuff. He decided to leave his gun on his nightstand and only took his badge with him. He knew that his mother would probably ask to see it. As he surveyed the room, he could see the amount of effort that his mother had put into decorating.

She was an author, but since her pregnancy, she had taken time off in order to relax. From what Percy heard in his conversations with her, he book series had been doing well and she was even featured on the New York Times Bestsellers List. He figured that for his parents to be moving into such an expensive house would be justified to the outside world as her books having done well.

The walls were painted a royal blue and the furniture was made of a dark wood and there was a large picture, printed on canvas, of Montauk. It was one taken when he had last gone there with his family, before his kidnapping by Hera.

At the foot of the bed was a long, soft rug and there was an armchair with a small table next to it near the window. From when he unpacked, he saw that his mother packed away his clothes in boxes. She knew that he would probably not be able to fit in them. He returned back to the bedroom.

He had taken off the suit jacket and was now in a shirt and dress pants. He went back downstairs where his mother was sitting in one of the stools that lined a side of the counters. Paul on the other hand had been cooking spaghetti and meatballs. While his mom was a culinary genius, both he and his stepfather could only cook basic foods.

He sat down at a seat next to her. She smiled at him. She looked a lot less worried now that he was here. He really wished that she would stop worrying about him so much. Both Paul and her worried too much sometimes. They forgot that he had dealt with worse and wanted to shield him from danger.

Unfortunately for them, Percy's fate had already been decided from the moment he was born. The Fates had already put him on a path, and Percy was sure that meeting S.H.I.E.L.D. had been orchestrated by the three immortals.

"I know that your room is kind of empty, but you were not here, so I thought that I would give you a chance to decorate it yourself." she told him, with a sad look.

"Hey," he told her softly. "Don't worry about that. I'm just glad that I can be here with you two."

"We're glad too, Percy." Paul said without turning back. "It's been weird not having you in the house—even though you were missing for more than a year."

"The house just isn't the same." his mother told him.

Percy gave them both a sheepish look. "I would be here if I could." he told them. "But, I made the right choice by going with Melanie. The FBI helped. It made dealing with things easier." he told them both.

"Besides," he started. "You'll be raising another kid in a little while. You'll have your hands full."

"It doesn't mean that we don't want you around, Percy." Paul told him having finished cooking. He was now setting the plates down for them to eat in the kitchen. Percy assumed that this was because his mom would have trouble getting seated in the dining room.

"You're still our kid." Paul continued. "You may not be biologically mine, but you're my son."

Percy nodded and smiled. "And you're family too, Paul." he told the man.

* * *

They all started eating after that. Paul's cooking, while not the same as his mom's, was pretty good. All through the dinner, they had talked about how everything was going. His family asked about how he had been doing, what assignments he was on and what he actually did at the FBI. He stopped short of telling them anything definitive, instead just repeating that he worked for the National Security Branch as tactical support.

"Can I see the badge?" Paul asked after they had all finished eating.

"Sure." Percy replied pulling it from his pocket. He passed the FBI badge that Fitz had given him to his stepdad and watched as the man studied it.

"Cool." Paul commented passing the badge to Percy's mom. She looked at the badge and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Is it really a good idea for you to be doing this, Percy?" his mom asked. "Is it safe?"

Percy sighed. Once more, they were worrying about him. "It's safe, mom. It's not too different from Camp." he told her. "I even made some friends. The woman who came to the apartment, Melanie, she's one of my friends there."

His mom sighed. "Alright, sweetheart. I just wanted to make sure that you made the right choice."

There was a moment of silence between them before Paul broke it. His stepdad had been putting the dishes into the dishwasher when he came back to see them both silent.

"Come on," Paul told them. "I think that its time for a movie."

Both Percy and his mom nodded and headed to the living room. When they got there, Paul had already set up a movie for them to watch. It was a nice comedy that made Percy laugh in his chair while his parents cuddled on the couch nearby. When the movie was over, they all said their goodnights and had gone back to their respective rooms.

As Percy walked into his new room, he closed the door behind him and changed out of his clothes and into a pair of boxer-briefs and a T-shirt. He bushed his teeth and climbed into bed but he didn't end up sleeping too well. He was constantly thinking back to what was happening at S.H.I.E.L.D. He thought of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a home now. His parents were going to one day accept the fact that he was growing up and that he needed to be on his own.

* * *

The restless night ended the next day close to five in the morning. He had gone exploring around the townhouse and found that there was a gym in the basement. He had changed into some sweats and pulled off his shirt before beginning to hit a punching bag he had found. Guess his parents hadn't gotten around to remove S.H.I.E.L.D.'s training equipment.

Percy didn't really keep track of time as he worked out. He was doing some thinking. He was both elated and worried about spending time with his family—that was a feeling that was well known to him. Back when he had his demigod scent, he worried that simply being around Paul and his mom would cause monsters to come and look for him. Luckily, ever since his talk with the Olympians, no monster had come close to him.

When Percy finally stopped abusing of the punching bag, he looked at a clock to realize that it was already seven in the morning. Knowing his parents, they were already up and about.

He decided that it was best if he showered and then went back upstairs. He didn't want to stink up the house with the smell of his sweat. Good thing that S.H.I.E.L.D. had a shower placed in the gym. After showering, he headed to his room and changed into a pair of tan khaki shorts and a blue short-sleeved shirt.

He brushed his teeth before going downstairs and found his mom and stepdad eating breakfast in the kitchen. He made himself a bowl of oatmeal using milk and grabbed a few berries from the fridge. From what he could see, his mom was drinking some kind of herbal tea and eating fruit slices while his stepdad was drinking a glass of orange juice and eating toast.

"Do you have any plans for today?" Paul asked him.

He shook his head no. He was too busy thinking about his life to have made any plans with his family.

"Well," his mom said. "I can't really doing anything too exiting. My due date is literally around the corner."

"How about a trip to Central Park?" Paul suggested. "We can go see the Zoo and its nice and relaxing."

"Sure." Percy agreed. "We can take the Prius so that mom can get there easily."

"Alright. Give us an hour to get ready." his mother told him, getting up from her seat.

* * *

One hour later, Percy was driving his parents from their townhouse to Central Park. As a native of New York, Percy knew which roads to take to get there and also knew that he would need to find a space on the streets around Central Park to put the car. The only problem about New York was that parking was actually not allowed in many places—especially in Manhattan.

His mom and Paul were seated in the back and Percy started the car and turned off 9th Street onto 6th Avenue. He drove on the road for perhaps five minutes before he found himself being diverted due to construction.

"Take a right on 23rd." Paul suggested. "There shouldn't be any construction there."

Percy did as his stepfather ordered and he turned onto 23rd Street. Park Avenue would be the fastest way to Central Park, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to turn on it. There were so many restrictions on the roads in Manhattan—including one which wouldn't allow him direct access to Park Avenue.

He had to go a bit farther, and turned left on 3rd Avenue and then turned left again onto 33rd Street before finally making it to Park Avenue. When he finally was able to, he made a right turn onto Park Avenue and he could see Grand Central Terminal and Stark Tower the background.

Traffic was dense and by now Percy had stopped at a red light located at 39th Street. From this vantage point, Percy could see the extensive work done on Stark Tower. Originally, the base of the building had been the lower section of the MetLife Building, but Percy could see that the MetLife Building had being completely deconstructed to make way for Stark Tower's reconstruction.

While the building's exterior was once a dull concrete, somewhat similar to the design used on the MetLife Building, the new Stark Tower was a glass and steel structure. He couldn't help but think that if Annabeth was here, she would explain to him how buildings could be built like this—the top being usable while the base was rebuilt completely.

Percy would have admired the marvel of engineering more if the light hadn't turned green. He eased off he brake and drove down Park Avenue until 60th Street where he turned left. From there, it was a mission of its own to find parking in Manhattan, but luckily, Percy managed to do so pretty quickly.

He stopped the car and went out to pay for parking while Paul helped his mom out of the car. After he locked the car, the three headed into Central Park and made their way to the zoo.

* * *

His day in Central Park had been pretty great. He had fun spending time with his parents after not seeing them in months. The zoo was actually pretty fun. He saw snow leopards, penguins and seals.

The seals had noticed him and began to clamour for his attention. He hadn't been able to resist and he spent a few minutes playing with them when they approached the barrier that separated them. After that, they had gotten lunch and walked around the park before eventually going back home.

The days that followed had been great as well. He just enjoyed spending time with them and he had even gone out on his own and bought his baby sister some gifts—now that he had a paycheque.

The days went by fast and soon, it was already halfway through his week. His routine stayed the same—work out, shower, brush his teeth, eat breakfast and then spend time with his family. To some, this might have been boring, but given that he was always off saving the world and all, he thought that it was good to have some boring.

What he definitely wasn't expecting that day was to find out that his mother was going into labour. He had been going outside in their backyard when Paul ran back inside with a shocked and scared expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked. His stepfather looked very rattled.

"Get the car started." Paul told him. "You're mom's in labour. We need to get to Bellevue Hospital."

Percy quickly got the car keys and went to the living room where he found his mother's maternity bag. He picked up the bag and grabbed his phone and called the hospital.

"Hello, New York City Health + Hospitals - Bellevue. How may I help you?" a man spoke on the line.

"Hi. My mom's going into labour. I'm gonna be driving her to the hospital now. Have someone ready to look at her." he told the person before hanging up. He muted his phone, effectively making sure that the hospital would have no other choice than to be ready.

By now, Paul and his mom were waiting in the car. He locked the door behind him and put his mother's maternity bag in the passenger side seat before getting in to drive. He sped the entire way there and got there in record time. Luckily, he had experience in this sort of thing and he got there safely. Besides, the FBI badge would make people reconsider asking him too many questions.

When he got there, there were nurses and doctors waiting at the hospital doors to get his mom into a room. Paul went along and signed papers as Percy found a space to park the car. When he got back into the hospital, he sat in a waiting area near his mom's room. Not even five minutes later, someone from the hospital came up to him.

"Anyone here for a Sally Jackson-Blois?" a woman asked.

"Me. I'm her son." he said quickly getting up. The woman looked up from her clipboard and came up to him.

"Sir, you realize that you cannot simply call a hospital and show up looking for care?" the woman asked. "You are supposed to call an ambu—"

She was continuing her rant when Percy interrupted her. "It's Special Agent Jackson, FBI." he interrupted pulling out his badge.

The woman immediately shut up. "My apologies, Agent Jackson. I didn't realize that your mother was an FBI agent's mother. I'll have someone come and update you momentarily." the woman replied in a quiet voice. No sooner than she came, she disappeared leaving him to wait as his sister was born.

* * *

He ended up waiting for hours. He had nothing to do so he just paced around the room to the point that a nurse at a station nearby had come to talk to him. The man had asked him if he was okay and Percy had to reassure the nurse that he was fine and just nervous.

Six hours later was when Percy saw the doctor finally get out of the room. She came up to him and updated him on his mother.

"You're mother is alright." the doctor told him with a smile. "She gave birth to a healthy baby girl and your stepdad is in there with her. You can go in if you'd like."

"Thank you, Dr. Yang." he told the woman after reading her name badge.

He quickly went to his mom's room and found her cradling a baby to her chest with Paul leaning next to her to coo at his sister. His little sister was a cute baby—she had a little tuft of brown hair on her head and looked so small, wrapped in a pale green blanket.

"Percy, meet your little sister—Penelope." his mom told him as he went in the room.

Percy realized that he probably had the widest grin ever on his face and he couldn't really help it. His parents had another kid and it was wonderful. While Percy had been raised by his mom alone, Penelope would have a brother, a mother and a father.

"You can hold her if you want, Percy." Paul told him.

"That's okay." Percy said quickly. He was happy, yes—but he was also scared. What if he dropped her, what if he wasn't a good older brother.

"It's okay, Percy. Nothing's gonna happen." Paul soothed.

Percy sighed and went closer to his mother's bed. He reached out and grabbed the baby that was offered to him and let Paul position his hand so that he was supporting his baby sister's body properly.

From this angle, she looked so precious, untouched by the harsh world. As he held her, she opened her eyes and looked at him with big blue eyes. She reached out her tiny hand and grasped onto his shirt and tugged softly.

She squirmed a bit before giggling. She started to use her tiny fists to poke him in the chest and was smiling as she did so. In that moment, all the bad stuff in his life faded away. He felt as if the death and carnage that he had seen were nonexistent.

I didn't even notice Paul and my mom in the room to be honest. I was so focused on Penelope that I didn't see Paul grab the car keys that I had placed on the night stand and go back home for some things.

Half an hour later, I handed my sister back to my mom and left the room as she fed the baby. I was amazed at the fact that such a tiny being already could do so much stuff. She started breastfeeding and she could giggle and grab on to me.

I don't remember much after that, but I know that I stayed in the waiting room until it was already the next day and my mom was allowed to leave the hospital. I was waiting in the car when my mom down in a wheelchair, as hospital policy mandated, and Paul clipped the car seat into the car. In the rearview mirror, I could see the top of Penny's head and he saw as his mom and Paul got in the car.

For the ride home, he drove especially carefully. He probably looked tense, but he wouldn't be comfortable until Penny was at home, where it was safe for her. When they finally got there, Percy had to pry his hands from the steering wheel and helped Paul carry in their things.

When that was done, Percy helped his mother out as Paul brought Penny inside. He locked the car and led his mom to her room, where Paul was putting his sister in her crib. After making sure that his parents would be alright, Percy decided to catch up on some sleep in his room. As he reached his bed, he dropped straight on it, no longer feeling up to changing.

* * *

The next few days were probably some of the best of Percy's life. Sure, he had to help change diapers but he had a whole family for once. It made him sad that days later, he would be flying out of New York.

He remembered when he had shown his sister a large stuffed seal. She wouldn't be able to play with it for a while, but her face lit up when she saw it and to Percy, that meant everything.

When the day finally came to get back to S.H.I.E.L.D., he was disappointed. Given the work he did, he probably wouldn't be seeing his family for a while. He would have been sadder, but when Penny had seen his expression, she tried her hardest to make him smile, even if that just involved punching him with her tiny fists.

"We'll see each other eventually." Percy told them with a sad smile. "I won't be gone forever."

"Just be safe." his mom told him and kissed his cheek.

Percy nodded and gave Paul a hug and kissed Penny on her head before turning to Maria who was waiting in the car. He loaded up his things and climbed in as they drove in silence to Queens. Twenty minutes later, Percy was in a quinjet en-route to the Theta Protocol Facility, still thinking about his family.


	12. Chapter 12

**_Rising Tides_**

 **Chapter Twelve – The Mind Stone**

 **Percy Jackson**

When Percy arrived at the Theta Protocol Facility, it was about eight at night. As he left the quinjet, he took his things and went to Fury's office. It was time to move into his new quarters on the Helicarrier. This ship would be his new home for the next little while at least and he needed to get assigned his quarters.

He manoeuvred his way around the massive vessel, avoiding bumping into the agents who scurried across its corridors getting it ready for launch. When he finally reached Fury's office, he knocked on the large door. Moments later, the door swung open and it revealed the colonel talking to Maria Hill.

"Make sure that the Avengers get that sceptre back and make a successful handoff to Asgard, Hill." the colonel said. "We can't have that thing on Earth anymore."

Hill nodded a reply before Fury closed the communications link. The screens went back to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s logo and Fury turned to him.

"Agent Jackson." the man greeted.

"Sir." he said curtly.

"How was New York?" the colonel asked. "Anything interesting happen?"

How could Fury have known about him visiting his parents in New York? The only people that were aware were Phil, Melinda and Fitz. His expression must have shown his confusion because Fury kept on talking.

"I am aware of everything that happens at S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Jackson." Fury told him. "I may not be the director anymore, but I still keep my eye on things."

He took a moment to process this information before he answered the colonel's original question. "New York was great." he told the man. "I got to see my little sister, Penelope. But I think that you already knew that."

"I did." Fury told him. "Are you here to get assigned quarters?"

"Yes, sir." he replied.

"Your new quarters are on Berthing Level 5. Room number 525." the colonel told him. "Get settled in, agent."

"Thank you, sir." Percy replied leaving the man's office. He used his S.H.I.E.L.D. lanyard to access the elevator and hit a button on the screen that said 'Berthing Level 5'. Moments later, he stepped out onto another deck and walked through the corridors as he tried to find his new room. It took him maybe ten minutes to find his room, but that was probably due to the fact that the Helicarrier was massive.

He opened the door to his room using his lanyard and found it to be very similar to his room at the _Playground_. For a room on an aircraft carrier, it was quite large. The room had a queen size bed on one side of the room and a glass screen mounted on the wall. Across from the door, on the far side of the room was a massive window that allowed him to see the parts of the carrier that had a view of the outside. Currently, that view was a drab one of the concrete floor of the hangar, but he imagined that once in the air, the view would be pretty great.

As he went inside and dropped off his bag, he approached the window. He looked across the large chasm to see quarters just like his and when he turned a bit to the right, he could see a lab that faced the chasm as well as the mess hall. Percy noticed that there was a remote to control the privacy settings for the room. He supposed that it was to darken the window's glass and to bring it back to its transparency.

The bathroom that was in the room was actually pretty decent as well. It was mid-sized and had a large shower. He went around the room to also find that it had a decently-sized closet where he could keep his things and a chest of drawers.

Percy unpacked all of his clothes, making sure to separate the ones that needed to be washed and put away the clean ones. He would have to do laundry later, it would seem. He decided to take a shower to get his mind off of things and finally get settled in.

He undressed and opened the wide glass door that led to the modern shower and stepped in. The door closed behind him and Percy turned the water up to hottest setting. As he showered, Percy thought about the message that he had gotten on his phone from Fitz. The engineer had notified him that all of his equipment was already sent over to the Helicarrier's armoury.

After having showered, he dried himself using his powers and exited the shower. Percy put on some boxer-briefs and climbed into bed and pulled the covers over him. He went to bed peacefully.

* * *

The next morning, Percy had decided to go through his routine of waking up, brushing his teeth, working out and showering before finally eating breakfast. As a workout, Percy decided to brush up on sword-fighting given that he hadn't used Riptide in a while. It took him a while to find the gym, but once he did, he hacked away at the training dummies until he had almost exhausted himself.

He got back to his room and showered before heading down to the mess hall. Like in all S.H.I.E.L.D. compounds, the mess hall was a massive room where there was a seemingly endless supply of food. There were lots of people on the ship, but people actively avoided him. He attributed that to the fact that he was both the new guy and the guy who was assigned personally to the Helicarrier by the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Still, it was a bit daunting to have people act like that around him. He sort of felt like an exhibit. Percy tried to pay no attention to it though and just went on with his day. He went to the armoury to see if his gear was actually all here and was happy to find that Fitz had sent over all of his things, as promised.

He picked up a tactical suit and changed into it, having been accustomed to wearing it around the base. He felt his pocket and found Riptide there and strapped to his back was the replica that Fitz had made. He headed down to the bridge to try and find the colonel.

Percy found Fury there barking orders at agents who scurried to do as the man ordered. He couldn't really gauge the man's mood given that he had a seemingly permanent scowl on his face, but that didn't stop Percy from going to see the man.

"Colonel." Percy greeted.

"Agent Jackson." the man replied turning to him. "Is there anything you need?"

"I was hoping that you could clarify my purpose on this ship." Percy told the man. "I'm supposed to stay on it as your resident enhanced person, okay, that's great. But we're on land, in a giant hangar. So what exactly do you want me to do?"

"I want you to sit tight, agent." Fury answered. "But Coulson also gave me your file, which means that you'll have trouble doing that. Am I wrong?"

Percy shook his head no. It was pretty obvious that he needed to distract himself to stop his ADHD from getting out of control. He would get medication for it, but his demigod physiology didn't react well with substances that tried to stop his body's natural reflexes.

"Head down to the gym." Fury ordered. "There's a new class of recruits that Coulson brought me. Teach them hand-to-hand combat. Remember that they are new recruits, Agent Jackson—they are not specialists like you."

"Yes, sir." Percy answered, glad to have something to pass the time.

He went back up to the gym and saw that it was full of agents, most of them quite young-looking—as if they were just graduating high school or just going off to college. The moment that he entered the room, everyone stopped talking and stared at him. That only lasted for a moment before they went back to their discussion.

"Line up!" Percy barked out causing the young recruits to stumble as they rushed to their positions.

Whipping them into shape was gonna be fun. Percy finally understood exactly why Melinda had been smirking so much when she was training him.

* * *

 **Wanda Maximoff**

Today was going to be the day that Wanda finally got peace. The Avengers were on their way to the Fortress of Novi Grad, where she could finally give Tony Stark what he deserved. The Merchant of Death would know her pain—the pain of seeing your parents fall to their deaths at the young age of ten.

She knew that helping Hydra was probably not the best course of action to honour her parents' legacy, but what choice did she have. Her country was a turbulent one, ruled by dictators who seemed to be on a monthly shift before being assassinated by the next dictator. She had been powerless seventeen-year-old girl who needed to be empowered. One year later, her brother Pietro and her had new abilities.

Pietro was capable of harassing momentum and use it as speed and force. She could control the energy that existed in all things, living and non-living, and connect her mind to other beings. Hydra had been a means to an end for her—she didn't believe in their ideas about global domination. That was why she wasn't worried about Hydra's systematic destruction that had been occurring over the course of the last months.

She saw as Baron von Strucker worried over the state of his fortress. By nightfall, the Hydra base here would be long empty of its inhabitants. Strucker's forces, while powerful, were scattered and lacked the conviction to get things done.

"We're leaving." Pietro told her. "We won't be going down with Hydra. We will get our revenge on Stark."

She knew her brother was right. She nodded and watched as he bolted from the room in a blur of blue and white light. She sneaked around the corridors of the fortress until she was far enough away from the central command centre.

She could hear as Dr. List and Baron von Strucker talked about her brother and her. The two vile scum were idiotic at best. They never hid how they truly felt about them—to Hydra, they were tools. Those two were idiotic because they wanted to empower strangers, in hopes of getting powered individuals on their side.

That wouldn't work out for them. She and Pietro already knew that Hydra was a lost cause. She heard over the last few months how the serpentine organization S.H.I.E.L.D. was making their mark on Hydra. Bases were taken out, anarchy was rising in the organization. Soon, Hydra would be long forgotten as they crumbled from all sides.

That wasn't any of her concern though. She was making her way around the fortress, looking for Stark when she turned a corner and heard Captain America talking to Strucker. Strucker smirked as he saw her, but that moron didn't know that she wasn't here for him.

She silently climbed up the stairs as the captain was distracted. He was asking about her bother and her. She concentrated her energy and lifted her hands, sending a pulse of energy at the super-soldier, launching him down the stairs. She didn't stick around for Strucker and backed out of one of the doors, sealing it behind her.

She would find Tony Stark and she would end him. She made her way down to what she liked to call the cavern of horrors. It was a vast chasm beneath the fortress housing all of Hydra's stolen alien artifacts. She could see Stark approach the sceptre and speak with one of the other Avengers.

As her tormentor went even closer to the sceptre, she raised her hands and put a vision in his mind. She would get to torment her tormentor before she ended him. A nice little vision of Stark's worst fears would play in his head.

She could see the man tense as he experienced the vision and was about to send a vortex of energy through him when she saw his subconscious. She put her hands back down and smirked. The man would be his own downfall. He would build the instrument of his demise and look to it for hope.

She quickly back-pedalled until she was farther away from the Merchant of Death. By now, her brother had speeded to her and was about to engage the man that killed their parents when she put her hand in front of his chest. Her brother looked at her, before glancing back to Stark, who was about to take the sceptre.

"We're just going to let him take it?" Pietro asked angrily.

She smiled at her brother. He didn't see what she saw. "Yes." she smirked. "Don't worry, our fight is far from over—it just got a little better."

She made her way out of the fortress with her brother following behind, a harsh expression on his face. Her brother wouldn't understand her vision of the being who would bring about Stark's demise. He wouldn't see the Merchant of Death meticulously craft the instrument of his doom.

* * *

It was days later that Wanda had gotten a sign of her impending success. Pietro and her had been holed up in a ratty motel in the outskirts of Novi Grad when she had gotten a package delivered to their room. Inside it was a phone, loaded with a single message, in Sokovian. _Tsentr goroda sobor_ _,_ _10:00 ПМ_. _Y_ _a_ _mogu dat' vam to, chto vy khotite_ _._

That was how she and Pietro were walking to the church in the cold night of a Sokovian spring. That cathedral had been destroyed in the Bombings of Novi Grad eight years ago. She knew it well enough. She remembered how her parents brought her brother and her to this very church on Holidays.

Her mother would tell her to be kind and loving, to reject prejudice and hate. Wanda could remember playing with her mother in the church's yard after praying. She quickly cleared those thoughts from her mind. She couldn't handle seeing her mother in her head, knowing that if she was still here, she would be ashamed of the things that she and Pietro had done.

They were now both standing in the ruined church, the stars and moon lighting up the empty space. She could see the chair from which the priest would sit and pray with the congregation. She felt almost wrong to be in this place—she and her brother had long given up God and she felt only pain by being in the church.

She could see a person, wearing a cloak, sitting in the chair. "Talk, and if you are wasting our time—" she said before being interrupted.

"Did you know this church is in the exact centre of the city?" a gravelly voice asked. It sounded vaguely mechanical in pitch. She and her brother approached the voice as they listened.

"The elders decreed it so that everyone could be equally close to God." the voice continued. "I like that. The geometry of belief."

Wanda only focused on the talking for a little while before she tried to see this person's thoughts. She couldn't. If this was the being from her vision, she was surprised. She could see a metal arm peeking from the cloak. Either this was a robot or a cyborg.

"You're wondering why you can't look inside my head." the metal man stated.

"Sometimes its hard." she fired back. Wanda didn't take kindly to being underestimated. Her life had been full of people who underestimated her—the poor orphan girl who lost her parents. "But sooner or later, every man shows himself."

"Oh, I'm sure they do." the metal man said, rising from the seat and pulling off the cloak. What was beneath it was amazing. It was a metallic robot, built in a humanoid shape that was now inching closer to the twins.

"But you needed something more than a man." the being stated coming closer to them. "That's why you let Stark take the sceptre."

"I didn't expect… but I saw Stark's fear." she told the robot. "I knew it would control him. Make him self-destruct."

The robot paced, walking away from them. "Everyone creates the thing they dread." it stated. "Men of peace create engines of war. Invaders create Avengers. People create smaller people…" the robot told them turning back.

"Uh… children." the robot chuckled. "I lost the word, there. Children, designed to supplant them, to help them end."

"Is that why you've come? To end the Avengers?" Wanda asked. She could see hope from this machine that Stark had created. It would be the start of their revenge.

"I've come to save the world. But also… yeah." the robot said.

* * *

An hour later, they were back in the fortress, being led by Ultron to the cavern of horrors. She found it deeply changed, no longer filled with alien artifacts, but of robots, all seemingly like Ultron.

"We'll move out right away." Ultron told them. "This is a start, but there's something else we need to begin the real work."

"All of these are…" Wanda trailed off following the robot into the cave.

"Me." Ultron replied. "I have what the Avengers never will. Harmony. They're discordant. Disconnected. Stark's already got them turning on each other. And when you get inside he rest of their heads—"

"Everyone's plan is not to kill them." Pietro interrupted.

"And make them martyrs?" Ultron asked hovering closer to her brother. "You need patience. Need to see the bigger picture."

"I don't see the big picture." Pietro told the robot as it landed in front of them. "I have a little picture. I take it out and look at it, every day."

"You lost your parents in the bombings. I've seen the records." Ultron told her brother.

"The records are not the picture." Pietro fired back.

"Pietro." she warned. She didn't want him to create discord amongst them. They were so close to their goal.

"No, please." Ultron told them.

Pietro gave her a look before turning back to the robot. "We were ten years old. Having dinner, the four of us." Pietro recounted. "When the first shell hits, two floors below, it makes a hole in the floor. It's big."

Pietro shook his head as he relived the day they lost their souls. "Our parents go in and the whole building starts coming apart. I grab her, roll under the bed, and the second shell hits. But, it doesn't go off. It just sits there in the rubble. Three feet from our faces."

Pietro smiled cynically as he remembered their pain. "And on the side of the shell, is painted one word…"

"Stark." she interrupted.

"We were trapped for two days." her brother told the robot.

"Every effort to save us, every shift in the bricks, I think 'This will set it off'. We wait for two days for Tony Stark to kill us." she finished.

"I know what they are." Pietro told Ultron.

There was a moment of silence between the three of them. "I wondered why you two were the only ones who survived Strucker's experiments." Ultron told them. "Now I don't. We will make it right."

The robot walked closer to Wanda, while addressing her brother. "You and I can hurt them." Ultron told Pietro. "But you will tear them apart, _from the inside_." the robot finished, addressing Wanda.

* * *

Hours later, they were heading to a plateau near the coast of South Africa. They had just seen Ultron end the vile scum that was Strucker at the NATO Detention Facility and were now heading to East Coast of South Africa to find a metal called vibranium.

Ultron had sent both she and her brother out to meet Klaue first. She was moving quietly through he beached boat that the black market arms dealer used as a headquarters. Pietro was about to go into Klaue's office when she saw the arms dealer pull out a handgun and shoot toward her brother.

She was about to cry out to warn him, but Pietro had already sped away, pulling the bullet from the air and placing it on the Klaue's desk.

"Yeah. The Enhanced." the arms dealer commented. "Strucker's prize pupils. Want a candy? Hmm?" the man told them, waving a bowl of candy around.

"I was sorry to hear about Strucker. But then, he knew what kind of world he was helping create." the arms dealer told them. "Human life. Not a growth market."

Pietro looked at her and she stared back at her brother. Growth market? Strucker wanted to sell them?

"You didn't know?" the arms dealer questioned. "Is this your first time intimidating someone? I'm afraid I'm not that afraid."

"Everybody is afraid of something." Wanda told the man approaching him.

"Cuttlefish." Klaue deadpanned. "Deep sea fish. They make lights, disco lights…" the arms dealer told them imitating a cuttlefish. "To hypnotize their prey and then, whoop!" the man exclaimed, with hand gestures. "I saw a documentary. It was terrifying."

This was just plain stupid. Did this man think that they were morons? Her brother did seem to care about this man's monologue because he simply dashed to the man's desk and grabbed a candy, popping it in his mouth.

"So if you're going to fiddle with my brain and make me see a giant cuttlefish, then I know you don't do business." the man told her. "And I know you're not in charge. And I only deal with the man in charge."

Wanda was very happy when Ultron flew up to the window next to the arms dealer and pulled him right through. That man was getting on her nerves, with his endless prattling about deep sea life.

Moments later, Klaue led Ultron and them to his stash of vibranium. From what she could see, there were tons upon tons of it. Some of the world's rarest and most valuable metal, sitting unused in a beached freighter off the coast of South Africa. A waste.

"Upon this rock, I will build my church." Ultron told the arms dealer. "Vibranium." the robot said, tossing an ingot to Pietro.

"You know, it came at great personal cost." the arms dealer told Ultron. "It's worth billions."

Ultron simply chuckled. "Now, so are you." the robot told Klaue. "It's all under your dummy holdings. Finance is so weird."

While the arms dealer looked at his phone to see his new wealth, Ultron continued to speak. "But I always say: Keep your friends rich and your enemies rich and wait to find out which is which."

Klaue slowly turned to Ultron. "Stark." the man stated.

"What?" questioned the robot.

"Tony Stark used to say that. To me." the man elaborated. "You're one of his."

Ultron's metallic face changed in expression. He reached out and grasped Klaue's arm. "What? I'm not… You think I'm one of Stark's puppets? His hollow men?" Ultron asked agitated.

Wanda used her powers to stop Klaue's bodyguard from pulling out his weapon. "I mean, look at me. Do I look like Iron Man?" Ultron asked angrily.

"Stark is nothing!" the robot said, using his other arm to slice off Klaue's arm. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Oh… I'm sure that's gonna be okay. I'm sorry."

"It's just that I don't understand." Ultron said. "Don't compare me with Stark!" the robot growled before kicking the wounded man down a flight of stairs. "It's a thing with me. Stark is… He's a sickness!"

Suddenly, another voice echoed in the boat. "Ah, Junior." Iron Man said landing on a walkway across from them. "You're gonna break your old man's heart."

"If I have to." Ultron fired back, turning to face Captain America, Iron Man and Thor.

"Nobody has to break anything." Thor told Ultron.

"Clearly, you've never made an omelet." the robot replied.

"He beat me by one second." Stark told his team. Seeing the man was bringing back bad memories and it seemed that Pietro was thinking the same thing.

"Ah, this is funny." Pietro said. "Mr. Stark. It's what? Comfortable? Like old times?" her brother added glancing to the weapons that lay in the boat.

"This was never my life." Stark told Pietro.

"You two can still walk away from this." Captain America told her.

"Oh, we will." Wanda promised.

"I know you've suffered—" the Captain tried to tell her.

"Ah!" Ultron interrupted. "Captain America. God's righteous man. Pretending you could live without a war." the robot told the Avenger. "I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but—"

"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it." Thor interrupted.

"I think you're confusing peace with quiet." Ultron replied. By now, Wanda knew what she would have to do. A fight would break out, and she needed to do as much damage as possible.

"Uh-huh. What's the vibranium for?" Stark asked.

"I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan." Ultron said calmly before using his tractor-beam to pull Iron Man to him and blasted him with energy rays.

The two were now fighting in the air and the Ultron Sentries were now engaging the Avengers. Captain America was rushing toward her in a tackle when she blasted him with an energy pulse, slamming him into a wall.

She went through corridors, trying to find the best Avenger to attack. She needed to be sure of which one to manipulate. She could then create a chain reaction of fear through their ranks and cripple them.

Thor came out of one of the halls and she immediately approached him with her arms raised. Wanda channeled her energy into warping Thor's mind and concentrated on bringing out his fears. Just as quickly as she came, Wanda disappeared, looking for her next target.

She went down a flight of stairs to see Pietro tackle Captain America to the ground. Immediately, she crouched down and sent a wave of fear through his mind before climbing back up the stairs to incapacitate more Avengers. This was easier than she thought.

The next Avenger she found was Black Widow. This woman was deeply troubled and it wasn't hard to make her catatonic with fear. Wanda caught glimpses of being abused and enslaved as a child in service to the Soviet Union. This one Avenger, Wanda didn't feel so right hurting. Like her, the Black Widow was an orphan—someone who was taken and made into something different by fate.

Wanda didn't dwell on it. She went back to find Hawkeye. He would be the last Avenger inside the boat. She rounded a corner and spotted him. Just as she was about to send her wave of energy into his mind, he whirled around and planted a shocking arrow into her forehead.

Her vision went fuzzy as electricity coursed through her veins. Her vision went black, but she knew that she was still upright and awake. Fear began to take hold. She was blind. What if this blindness wasn't temporary? Blinding pain interrupted her thoughts as she was electrocuted.

"I've done the whole mind control thing." she heard the archer say. "Not a fan."

Within seconds, Pietro came to get her and she felt him pull out the arrow from her forehead. Her vision was still black, but she could feel him carrying her to safety. As they were escaping, her vision slowly came back, to her elation. Her brother deposited her outside and checked on her.

"What can I do?" her brother asked her.

"It hurts." she groaned out.

"I'm going to kill him." her twin seethed. "I'll be right back."

"No!" she exclaimed, reaching out for him. "I'm alright." she panted. "I want to finish the plan. I want the big one."

Moments later, Pietro deposited her near Dr. Banner and she sent a large pulse of energy to him. She could see the man's resolve breaking and the Hulk began to be unleashed. Pietro quickly carried her from Banner's vicinity and took her to the jet which would take them to Ultron.

* * *

 **Percy Jackson**

It had only taken half an hour to teach the recruits not to underestimate him. Sure, he was about their age and some of them were even older than him, but none of them had his skill level or experience. One of them had been stupid enough to try the whole alpha male routine and challenged him to a spar. The winner was easily determined and the loser needed to be sent to the infirmary with a fractured wrist.

He hadn't done that on purpose, but the guy was struggling against him when Percy held him in a hold and almost elbowed Percy in the face. So his reflexes kicked in and the guy's wrist ended up fractured. That had been a few days ago. The Helicarrier was now prepping for launch and Fury had ordered that the carrier be moved to the Atlantic, so that it was within a few hour's flight to major cities such as New York, Paris and London.

Percy was happy to leave the Theta Protocol Facility. Living in a ship that was enclosed in a cave had been one of the most boring experiences of his life. Actually being outside of that hangar was going to be great. Percy was now standing with Nick Fury on the flight deck, waiting as the hangar doors opened.

Moments later, the doors above them opened to reveal the Rockies and the Helicarrier's four massive vertical engines whirred to life. The sound of the turbines became deafening as they accelerated on their magnetic rails and pushed the carrier from the ground. Percy looked in awe as the aircraft carrier was lifted into the sky, climbing at a steady pace until they were looking directly at mountains, and then rising past them.

At this point, the colonel had told him to either head back inside the carrier or put on an oxygen mask. Percy had ended up inside, going to the gym and teaching the class of recruits another lesson.

* * *

He had been in the gym, teaching a self-defence lesson when an agent had told him to drop everything and head to the bridge. Apparently, another agent would be assigned to train the recruits from now on. Percy was being assigned to active duty, which actually excited the demigod, because while doing nothing was relaxing, it was also troubling because all he thought about was how Coulson was handling everything or how his little sister was doing.

"Colonel Fury." Percy greeted as he walked to the man.

"Agent Jackson, good, you're here." the colonel replied. "Do you know how to pilot at quinjet?"

"Yes, sir." Percy answered.

"Great. You are going to fly me somewhere." Fury told him before walking out of the bridge and into the corridors which led to the hangar bay. Percy followed quickly, trying to match the colonel's brisk pace.

Once they were in the hangar bay, Fury climbed into a quinjet and Percy followed. He didn't get what was going on. What was so pressing that Fury needed to leave the Helicarrier. The ship was on its way to the mid-Atlantic in that moment.

"Do you mind telling me where I'm taking you and why?" he asked, prepping the quinjet for launch. Percy hit a switch and the rear doors closed before he hit another to send the quinjet to the flight deck. The hydraulic platform below the quinjet rose and the quinjet was soon ready for takeoff.

"You're taking me to these coordinates." Fury told him, gesturing to a set of coordinates already plugged into the navigational computer. "And you're taking me there so that I can talk to the Avengers."

"The Avengers? Why?" Percy questioned as he piloted the quinjet off the flight deck and into the air. He manoeuvred the plane to head west towards the coordinates.

"Something happened to the team." Fury told him. "There's a girl, her name is Wanda Maximoff. She's an enhanced who has power over people's minds, among other things."

"So, she's a psychic." Percy concluded. "What does that have to do with the Avengers?"

"Look, I'll give you the short version of things." the man replied. "You remember when you came in my office and I was talking to Hill?"

"Yeah." Percy told Fury.

"Well, Hill gave the Avengers the intel you gathered and they went to Sokovia to retrieve the sceptre." Fury said. "Once the sceptre was back in New York, Stark and Banner studied it and found that it's gem replicated a brain's thinking patterns. They decided to study whether they could apply the patterns to artificial intelligence—it went wrong."

"What does that mean?" Percy questioned, looking back momentarily at the colonel.

"It means that somehow, their attempts to study the sceptre created a program which worked too well." the man explained. "The program, Ultron, became sentient and began to exhibit hostile behaviour. The basics of the story are that he escaped with the sceptre by commandeering the Iron Legion and went to find the girl and her twin brother."

"The team caught on to what Ultron was trying to do and went to look for him. At the same time, the Maximoff twins helped Ultron steal a large quantity of a rare metal called vibranium and as they escaped, the girl used her powers on the Avengers. Once she got to Banner, she made him turn into the Hulk and attack Johannesburg." Fury continued.

"They're underground." Percy concluded. It would be the smart play to not face the public after causing so much mayhem.

"Yes, they are." Fury told him. "Hill informed me that they are heading to Iowa. Which is why you're taking me to Iowa."

Percy stayed silent for a moment trying to process what he just heard. Sure, it was probably on par with the godly crap that he had needed to deal with before, but it was still hard to imagine a sentient robot terminator being out there. "When Coulson said that S.H.I.E.L.D. dealt with the weird, I didn't imagine the terminator being a part of that." Percy told the man. In his peripheral vision, Percy saw Fury show a hint of a smile at his statement.

* * *

A few hours later, they were landing in a field in Iowa. It was late in the day, but still not nighttime. Percy hit the switch to open the rear door and Fury walked out immediately. He followed after making sure that he had no identifiable S.H.I.E.L.D. equipment on him and shutting down the quinjet, closing the rear ramp behind him.

In the distance, Percy could see a cozy-looking farm. It was the perfect picture of the American breadbasket, with its quaint two story home and large barn. Percy looked around and found another plane nearby. He recognized the logo emblazoned on it immediately. The Avengers were here.

Fury opened a small door at the rear of the barn and went inside. Percy followed the colonel inside and saw a barn crowded with many things inside. Everything from a tractor, to bales of hay, to heavy machinery used for renovations.

Percy saw the colonel pull out a phone and dial a number. The man picked up a few trinkets from the work table on the side of the barn while he waited for his phone call to be answered.

"Hello, Laura." Fury greeted, to presumably a woman named Laura. "How are the kids?"

Fury's facial expression changed when he was talking about Laura's children. The man was usually stoic and did not show any emotion, but Percy could see him wearing a small smile on his face as he talked with the woman.

"Yes, I need to talk to them." Fury spoke. "Well, more urgently, I need to talk to Stark."

Fury nodded as he spoke with the woman. "Well, you don't have to come far to find me, I'm standing in your barn." the colonel said on the phone.

"Thank you, Laura." Fury said after a moment. Percy hadn't heard what Laura and Fury were talking about in its entirety, but based on what he heard, Percy knew that apparently, Fury and he were trespassing on Laura's property.

"Wait for me back there." the colonel instructed, pointing to a section of the barn which was hidden from the front of the structure. "Stark has some issues about S.H.I.E.L.D. agents."

Percy did as the man asked and went to a secluded corner of the barn. Surprisingly, Fury followed after him and before Percy could ask why, the front door of the barn swung open. He could hear a person, a man given the loud footsteps, walk inside the barn.

"Hello, Deere." Iron Main said aloud. Percy remembered seeing the John Deere tractor and had to admit that Stark made a good pun. He could hear the billionaire fiddle with the tractor at the front of the barn. "Tell me everything. What ails you?" Stark said.

The colonel walked past Percy into the main part of the barn. "Do me a favour." Fury started, causing Stark to drop what he was doing. "Try not to bring it to life."

"Why. Ms. Barton, you little minx." the billionaire sighed. "I get it, Maria Hill called you, right?" Stark paused. "Was she ever not working for you?"

"Artificial intelligence." Fury interrupted. "You never even hesitated." the director stated walking closer to the tractor.

"Look, it's been a really long day—like Eugene O'Neill long—so how's about we skip to the part where you're useful." Tony Stark told the colonel.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you're going to shut him down." the colonel told Stark. From his vantage point, he could see Fury's hard expression as he talked about Ultron.

"You're not the director of me." Iron Man fired back. Percy saw the colonel simply sigh and turn back from Tony Stark and take a seat on a bale of hay.

"I'm not the director of anybody." Fury said. "I'm just an old man, who cares very much about you."

Percy heard the billionaire scoff. "And I'm the man who killed the Avengers. I saw it. I didn't tell the team." Stark confided. "How could I? I saw them all dead, Nick. I felt it… The whole world, too… Because of me."

Stark backed away from Fury. "I wasn't ready. I didn't do all I could." Iron Man told the colonel. Percy felt slightly uncomfortable at spying on such a vulnerable moment for the billionaire. The man was literally baring his soul, blaming himself for Ultron's crimes and it just felt wrong for him to spy on that.

"The Maximoff girl," Fury started. "She's working you, Stark. Playing on your fear." the colonel informed the man.

"No, no, no." Stark protested, turning back to Fury. "I wasn't tricked, I was shown. It wasn't a nightmare, it was my legacy." the billionaire said, gesturing to himself. "The end of the path I started us on."

"You've come up with some pretty impressive inventions, Tony." Fury said as he rose from the bale of hay. "War isn't one of them."

"I watched my friends die." Tony said. "You'd think that'd be as bad as it gets, right?" the billionaire asked. "Nope." the man scoffed. "It wasn't the worst part."

Fury nodded in Percy's direction and he took that as the signal to come into view. Percy walked silently into the centre aisle of the barn. "The worst part is that you didn't." Percy said as he came closer to the two.

Stark immediately snapped his head toward Percy and he could see the billionaire tense as he saw Percy. In the man's defence, Percy was wearing his usual uniform which consisted of his tactical suit, a handgun strapped to his thigh and the sword Fitz made was strapped to his back. Not exactly something you wore to meet the neighbours.

Everyone was silent as Tony Stark evaluated Percy. "Who's this? G.I. Joe Jr.?" the billionaire scoffed.

"No, this is Percy Jackson." the colonel introduced. "He worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. as a specialist before D.C. I asked for his help." Fury lied.

"You don't ask for anything." Iron Man stated. "So what, he's the guy you call to have things done off book? Your fixer of sorts." the billionaire taunted.

Fury simply shook his head. "You know, this paranoia has got to stop." the colonel advised. "Agent Jackson has taken time out of his life to help the Avengers—something that he isn't required to do anymore now that S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't exist. So please, Stark, just work with me here."

"Fine." the billionaire spat. "I shouldn't be surprised though. You lost Barton and Romanoff, so it shouldn't surprise me that you have a new trained puppy to do your bidding."

Fury sighed in response while Percy tried not to show any emotion at Stark's taunts. He needed to calm himself, lest he cause damage to the farm due to his anger. "Let's go. I talked to Laura. She's making dinner right now." Fury told the man.

* * *

This was how Percy ended up knocking on the door of Laura's home, dressed in tactical gear. The door swung open and Percy was met by a little girl who looks up at him with big eyes.

"Daddy!" she yelled when she saw him. "Someone's at the door!"

Seconds later, Clint Barton was in front of Percy, fixating a cold glare on him. Percy already knew about Clint Barton—he was famous inside S.H.I.E.L.D. along with Natasha Romanoff. They were part of a trio of Fury's best— Agents Romanoff, Barton and Coulson. So, it was awkward to have someone like that shooting daggers at him while he stood on the front porch.

This immediately changed when he saw Nick Fury behind Percy. "Son of a bitch." the archer cursed under his breath so that the little girl wouldn't hear. "He one of yours?" Barton asked Fury pointing to Percy. Percy turned back to see the colonel nod and Barton stepped aside and gestured for Percy to enter.

He stepped through the door and was met by a picturesque home, dated, but warm and cozy. He walked into the living room so that the others could get inside and Percy found himself staring at toys littering the floor and two children, a boy and girl fighting.

"Cooper, Lisa, you'd better not be fighting." a woman called out from the kitchen. The woman turned from place in the kitchen and froze as she saw Percy. The woman, who Percy now saw was pregnant, just stood in her spot, tense, before relaxing when Barton walked past him.

A few hushed words were uttered between the two and the woman turned back with a much softer expression on her face. "Hi there." the woman greeted. "I'm Laura Barton. Welcome to my home."

"I'm Percy Jackson." he said. "I hope that I'm not imposing."

"Not at all." the woman smiled. "We barely get company anyway. Come on, let's get you out of your gear." She walked down a hallway, turning into a room and Percy walked quickly to catch up to her.

"You can put your gear in here. The kids don't come in here, so it'll be fine." Laura told him.

Percy nodded and took off the tactical vest, leaving him in black combat pants and a black t-shirt. Laura held out her hand and Percy handed the vest to her, making sure to pull the sword for its sheath on the back. He also unstrapped the Glock 19's holster from his thigh and handed both weapons to her after making sure the gun's safety was on and there were no rounds in the chamber. It wasn't safe to carry his weapons around this house given there were kids here.

"Thanks." he told the woman. As he turned to leave and go back to the others, she stopped him.

"So, what made you join?" Laura asked.

"Excuse me, Ms. Barton?" he asked her, confused.

"Join S.H.I.E.L.D." the woman clarified. "You don't look that old—you're in your early twenties at most. So what made you join?"

Percy stared at the woman for a second. She was very perceptive and was also not afraid to ask questions to strangers who showed up to her home.

"Myself." he admitted. "I'm not exactly normal—I'm what S.H.I.E.L.D. calls enhanced. I tend to bring attention to myself because of my powers and it wasn't the best time for me to stick around my family." Percy revealed. "When S.H.I.E.L.D. found me, they gave me a deal, come with S.H.I.E.L.D. to work on controlling my powers and in exchange, they make sure my family is safe and happy."

"How's that working out?" she asked him.

"Pretty well." he replied. "After some time there, I was asked to join S.H.I.E.L.D. and I agreed. It's been pretty great—you know, except the whole Hydra thing and kinda losing my job." Percy said, remembering the lie that Fury told Stark.

"When was this?" Laura asked him. "You don't look that old. You look like you should be in college."

"Two years ago." Percy lied. "And you're right about my age, I'm eighteen."

"God…" the woman sighed. "You were a minor."

"Yes." he lied. "But, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. Besides, I work for the FBI now, so its not that bad."

Laura was silent for a while, probably digesting the story that Percy told her—it was part lie, part truth, but she didn't know that. "Call me Laura." she told him leading him back to the others after locking the door behind them.

When Percy got back to the living room, he found Fury sitting on the couch with the little girl, Lisa, sitting in his lap. The image of Nick Fury with a child in his lap made Percy smirk—the tough-as-nails colonel, now at the mercy of a child.

A few minutes later, Lila had gotten bored and climbed off of Fury and went to draw with crayons. Percy went to the living room while Laura went back to the kitchen. He sat across from Fury when Stark came back and this time, Captain America was with him. Both of them were talking in hushed tones as they entered the living room.

Things didn't get any better from there. Barton had come back, this time with Romanoff and Banner. The Avengers, minus Thor, gathered around Percy and Fury, all of them with expressions of confusion and frustration on their faces.

"Kids, how about you go outside and enjoy the sunlight before it gets dark?" Barton suggested.

His kids picked up some of their toys and went dutifully outside to play. Once the front door was shut, everything went to hell.

"What the hell, Fury!" exclaimed the captain. "You brought a kid into this?!"

"He looks like a college kid." Banner told Fury. "I'm not going to be part of this."

Fury simply stayed quiet as the Avengers all tried to get their opinions heard. Percy on the other hand just wanted them all to shut up. This lie was getting out of hand, but he couldn't exactly just tell the truth about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s existence, or that Phil had been revived.

"Shut up!" he yelled. "All of you, be quiet for one freaking minute! And for the record, I am an adult."

The Avengers immediately went quiet. It wasn't his shouting that made them shut up though. In his frustration, Percy had called water from the sink and had created a wall of mist around the room. Once he noticed that, he immediately concentrated and the mist evaporated.

There was silence in the room. In the corner of his vision, Percy could see Laura tense. The tense silence was only broken when Tony Stark had decided to speak.

"You're an enhanced…" the billionaire said in amazement.

"Yes." Percy answered in a clipped tone.

"He's also the man who has been gathering intel for you all to use." Fury told the Avengers. "So how about we all calm down and talk this through?"

"Intel?" Romanoff asked.

"Yes, intel." Fury confirmed. "Percy here was the one who found the intel about the sceptre."

"That intel would be in Hydra's files." the Black Widow said. "He would need to have gone in to collect the intel."

"I did." Percy answered. "I found that intel in London while on an assignment there."

"What the hell does that mean?" asked Stark.

"It means that he made your lives easier." the colonel answered. "That's not what I'm here to discuss though."

"I don't care what you want to discuss right now." the captain said. "What I want to know is why a college-aged kid is doing with you. Especially an enhanced college-aged kid."

"You're going to have to spill, boss." Romanoff warned.

The colonel sighed in defeat. Before the man had the chance to start inventing him a story, Percy chose to interrupt.

"In case none of you heard, this 'kid' is capable of completing missions, so at least acknowledge the fact that I'm here." he told them. "And as for my story, S.H.I.E.L.D. recruited me two years ago. I worked as a Level 8 Specialist, reporting directly for the director."

"Level 8!?" Barton exclaimed. "He _cannot_ be Level 8."

"Barton, you and I both know that Clearance Levels are determined by performance, not by anything else." Fury told the archer. "And since he was classified Level 8, none of you were cleared to know about him—not that you could, given he didn't exist in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records."

The Avengers were silent. Percy would guess that they were all just processing what they had heard. Sure, the real story was much better put together and made more sense, but its not like it wasn't messed up. In fact, the real story would be more messed up than the one the Avengers had just heard—gods, monsters, demigods… it was best that they just thought that S.H.I.E.L.D. just did something immoral and hired a teen.

"Fury, you decided to hire a sixteen-year-old to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. two years ago. That's not something that sane people do." Stark told the colonel.

"It's immoral. It's wrong." Rogers added.

"Shut up, all of you!" Percy snapped. "You're all acting like you haven't done any wrong before. Stark, you created the terminator and Rogers, I've heard all about the S.S.R. missions. So, let's not dwell on my job and deal with what we need to deal with—Ultron."

Quiet followed his outburst. He didn't understand this team at all—they weren't the cohesive unit they appeared. They were bickering and falling over each other throwing accusations around, definitely not something that Earth's Mightiest Heroes should be doing.

"Dinner's ready, everyone." Laura announced, breaking the tense silence.

"We'll discuss this after dinner—once the kids go back to playing." Barton said.

Everyone stayed rooted in their places for a moment, as if trying to determine whether to listen to the archer's words before going to the dinner table. Everyone sat around the long table and started setting the table. Percy grabbed the plates and set them out, before sitting down on one of the seats. Someone must have gone out to tell the Barton children that dinner was ready because Lila and Cooper rushed in and sat down in two seats on Percy's left.

Barton helped his pregnant wife into a chair before going back to kitchen and returning with dinner. The archer went back and forth between the kitchen countertops and the dining table, setting down a smorgasbord of dishes. Laura had clearly been adept at cooking, like his mother, since Percy could see various dishes, including spice-rubbed pork tenderloin, scalloped potatoes and green beans.

They all ate in tense silence throughout the dinner. Other than small talk, there was silence. Occasionally, either Lila or Cooper would do something that made Percy and Natasha clean up the children. Percy and Natasha, who sat on either side of the two little children paid attention to the messes that they made and wiped them clean using a napkin.

Once the tense meal was over, Laura brought out a cherry crumble pie and gave everyone a slice. Like the rest of the dinner, it was delicious, sprinkled with sliced, grilled almonds. The real hard part of the night came after dinner, when both Lila and Cooper went to play in the living room.

Laura took their plates away and put them in the dishwasher. Once that was done, she went to the living room and sat down on the couch, watching her kids draw with crayons. The captain had decided to stand, as had Stark and Banner, leaving Romanoff sitting down at the table and Fury behind the kitchen counter. Barton was near the sink where he was sipping from a beer bottle. Percy himself had decided to stay seated at the table because if he had to deal with the Avengers and their problems, it was best to be comfortable.

"Are you all ready to listen now?" Fury asked.

There was no answer. "Alright," Fury said. "I'll just talk then. You all know that the before the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., I was a different person. My priorities were different."

The colonel went from his spot behind the counter and picked up a cookie that Laura had made—turns out, the woman stress-cooked.

"I tried my best to protect the world using the skills that I had learned from the CIA and the military." Fury continued. "I know that I made mistakes, costly mistakes, which led to the deaths of many agents. I know that I don't have a great moral compass, trust me, I know. So let me tell you that I have changed, but I can't change the past—my past."

There was more silence. When it finally broke, Percy was surprised that it was the Black Widow who spoke. "Alright." she said. "I get it. People change. I accept that the Nick from two years ago was someone more concerned with preventing the world from knowing about people with powers than helping them."

The spy turned toward her team. "So let's all be okay with that." she told them. "We all knew that he didn't have great moral judgement, so Agent Jackson shouldn't be a surprise." There was no response from her team but Percy could saw that their resolve was cracking. All of them were guilty of lapses in moral judgement, no matter how much they didn't like admitting it.

"Fine." Rogers sighed. "I'm not okay with this, putting teenagers to work for S.H.I.E.L.D., but what's done is done. Why exactly did you fly all the way out of here?"

"I came here to see how you were doing. I also came to make sure that you all had some kind of plan to deal with the terminator." Fury told them. "Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of vibranium he made off with, I don't think its just for one thing."

"What about Ultron himself?" Rogers asked.

"Oh, he's easy to track." Fury replied. "He's everywhere. The guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. It still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans, though."

"Is he still going after launch codes?" Stark asked, throwing a dart at the board on the wall.

"Yes, he is." the colonel told the engineer. "But he's not making any headway."

The billionaire turned to Fury. "I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare." Stark told them.

"Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that." the colonel informed the billionaire.

"Nexus?" Rogers asked.

"It's the world Internet hub in Oslo." Dr. Banner explained. "Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth."

"So, what did they say?" Barton asked picking up a throwing dart.

"He's fixated on the missiles." Nick told them. "But the codes are constantly being changed."

"By whom?" Stark asked flinching as Barton threw a dart that flew inches from his face.

"Parties unknown." Fury answered.

"Do we have an ally?" Romanoff asked from across Percy.

"Ultron's got an enemy." Fury told her. "That's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is."

"I might need to visit Oslo. Find our unknown." Stark said.

"Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that." Romanoff told Fury.

"I do." Fury told her. "I have you. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up. Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world."

"Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission." the colonel continued. "And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave."

"So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard." Fury told the Avengers.

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." Romanoff teased, breaking the tension.

"You know what, Romanoff?" Steve said.

"So, what does he want?" Fury asked.

"To become better." Rogers answered. "Better than us. He keeps building bodies."

"Person bodies." Stark added. "The human form in inefficient. Biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it."

Banner went up to the dinner table, standing next to Romanoff and looking at the picture that Lila had drawn of a butterfly. The little girl had offered it to her Auntie Nat as a present.

"When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed." Romanoff told Banner and Stark.

"They don't need to be protected. They need to evolve. Just look at Agent Jackson—he's biologically human, at least human looking, but he has powers we could only dream of. His body evolved from the basic human form to one more advanced." Banner said.

Everyone gazed at Banner before shifting their eyes to Percy. "Ultron's going to evolve." the doctor concluded.

"How?" Percy asked. This was getting out of hand, with robots who not only wanted world domination and destruction, but now with evolution. It seemed like all of the things from movies about robots were coming true—something which would be outrageous if it was impossible. But Percy knew that it was very possible that this platinum bastard could win.

"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?" Banner asked.

"Who's Helen Cho?" Percy asked, confused.

"Helen's a geneticist. One of the best in the world." Stark answered. "She's probably the only one who could figure out how to print Ultron a body."

"Is that even possible?" Romanoff asked. "I know that her work with the Regeneration Cradle is advanced, but could Helen actually make a living body?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Banner said. "What matters is that we get back out there. We already gave Ultron a head start."

"Alright everyone, suit up." Stark said.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was kitted out in their respective suits. They all gathered their things and waited for their orders. Percy had been following Fury around, waiting for some order to follow. In the hallway, he heard as Stark and Rogers talked about the mission.

"I'll take Natasha and Clint." Rogers said, picking up his shield.

"Alright. Strictly recon." Stark told the captain. "I'll hit the Nexus. I'll join you as soon as I can."

"If Ultron's really building a body…" the captain trailed off.

"It'll be more powerful than any of us." the engineer told his teammate. "Maybe all of us. An android designed by a robot."

"You know, I really miss the days when the weirdest thing that science ever create was me." Percy heard Rogers say.

He immediately followed as Fury moved toward where Stark and Rogers were talking. The colonel was putting on his coat and getting ready to get back to the quinjet.

"We'll drop Banner off at the tower." Fury told the two Avengers. "You mind if I borrow Ms. Hill?"

"She's all yours." Stark said. "Apparently."

"What are you gonna do?" the captain asked.

"I don't know. Something dramatic, I hope." the colonel told them before walking out the door. Percy followed and saw Dr. Banner walking quickly to match Fury's fast pace. It seemed that he would be flying Banner and Fury to New York.

* * *

 **Wanda Maximoff**

Wanda had successfully done her job in Johannesburg and was now in Seoul at the headquarters of U-GIN Genetics, a company that Ultron had seized control of from Helen Cho. The doctor had been exposed to the sceptre's power and she had become compliant with Ultron's commands.

On her way in, Wanda had almost wished that nothing had been going on. The lab was a modern set of buildings, built on artificial islands on the Han River. If she had been a tourist, she would have been enjoying the scenery with the genetics laboratory being built next to a large park, which had been planted with trees created by the lab.

She went into the lab's main research room where the Regeneration Cradle, a steel box with he ability to heal wounds had been retrofitted to create Ultron a living body. The case slid open with a whir and revealed a red body which was still being printed by the case.

"It's beautiful." Dr. Cho commented as she saw the body. "The vibranium atoms aren't just compatible with the tissue cells, they're binding them."

The geneticist went from her position standing in front of a monitor and walked up to the cradle's interface. "And S.H.I.E.L.D. even thought to—" she said before being interrupted.

"The most versatile substance on the planet, and they use it to make a frisbee." Ultron lamented. "Typical of humans. They scratch the surface and never think to look within."

One of the Ultron Sentries started a laser and watched it break through the sceptre's gem, revealing a small, orange stone. Ultron picked it up and placed it on the forehead of the body.

Dr. Cho pressed a few keys on the cradle's interface and the cradle shut once more. She plugged in wire after wire into the back of the cradle and fiddled with the controls. Ultron sat himself down near the cradle and waited as Dr. Cho attached the cables to the back of his head.

"Cellular cohesion will take a few hours, but we can initiate the consciousness stream." the geneticist told the robot, going back to the cradle and inputting a few commands. "We're uploading your cerebral matrix, now."

Suddenly, Wanda could feel the presence of another being nearby—a living being. She could feel the energy strumming through the android's body and could feel his mind start to work.

"I can read him." she told the geneticist. "He's dreaming."

"I wouldn't call it dreams." the scientist told her. "It's Ultron's base consciousness. Informational noise. Soon—"

"How soon?" the robot asked. "I'm not being pushy."

"We're imprinting a physical brain. There are no shortcuts. Even if your magic gem helps things along." the geneticist chastised.

Wanda wasn't paying attention though. She had instead decided to try and read Ultron. The robot's android body was living and had a brain and could think independently of wires and programming code. She reached out and placed her hands on the cradle, concentrating on breaking past Ultron's mind.

She felt pain. Extreme pain. The pain of a million souls dying at once. All light snuffed out from the world. Then, she saw it—the destruction of the earth. One large blast from space, eradicating life itself. "Ahh!" she screamed. It was too much at once—her mind was being bombarded by the anguished screams of the dead.

She quickly backed away from the cradle and her twin ran to her and comforted her. She felt her brother's arms wrap around her, trying to soothe her. She panted as she tried to get her heart rate under control.

"How could you?" she asked the machine.

"How could I what?" the robot replied.

"You said we would destroy the Avengers, make a better world." she told the metal man.

This destruction would be the result of her and Pietro's actions. They had helped a mad man gain almost unlimited power and a physical body from which Ultron could wreak havoc on the world. They were no better than Tony Stark who sold weapons to the militias of Sokovia. Their actions would be even worse than Stark's—while the billionaire's weapons claimed the lives of hundreds in Novi Grad, her actions would help the robot claim millions, if not billions.

"It will be better." the robot assured.

"When everyone is dead?" she asked. She had let this machine tempt her into doing the wrong thing and now, she felt the death of millions on her conscience. This was going way past getting their revenge on Stark—it went past getting justice for their parents. She and Pietro had helped this monster achieve the power to destroy humanity.

"This is not—The human race will have every opportunity to improve." Ultron tried to explain.

"And if they don't?" her brother asked.

"Ask Noah." the machine replied.

"You're a madman." Wanda said. She couldn't believe that this machine wanted to destroy humanity itself. To make sure that all the peoples of the earth, every one of them different and unique from the other, would be gone.

"There were more than a dozen extinction-level events before even the dinosaurs got theirs." Ultron justified. "When the Earth starts to settle, God throws a stone at it. And believe me, he's winding up."

The machine came closer to the cradle. "We have to evolve. There is no room for the weak."

She couldn't take this anymore. She concentrated on her powers and sent a pulse of energy to Dr. Cho. The geneticist was the only person who had the knowledge and skills to stop Ultron from being given a new body. She saw as the scientist took in a deep breath and the blue in her eyes dissolved and went back to their normal warm brown.

"And who decides who's weak?" she heard Pietro ask the robot.

"Life." the machine chuckled. "Life always decides."

"There's incoming." the robot said. "The quinjet. We have to move."

Pietro came to her and hugged her close to him. He placed a gentle hand on her back and rubbed. Her brother was the only other person attuned to her so well. Strucker's experiments had not only given them powers beyond the norm but had also strengthened their connection together. Pietro could feel her emotions, just like she could feel his.

"That's not a problem." Dr. Cho said, using the interface to stop Ultron's upload.

The robot groaned dramatically and shot a beam of energy at Dr. Cho's right shoulder. Outside, she could see the Ultron Sentries fire their own weapons at the lab technicians.

Pietro picked her up before she could even blink and sped out of the lab and into Seoul. Everything was a blur as her brother ran and soon, they stopped in one of Seoul's metal working districts.

"Why did you do that?!" she yelled at her brother. The people in the lab were innocents in all of this. They might have helped the Avengers, but they were researchers trying to eliminate the need for medicine. They were trying to save lives.

"Would you rather be dead?" her brother fired back.

"Those people didn't deserve to be left there." she told him. "They weren't bad people. They don't deserve Ultron's rage."

"I don't care about them." her brother said angrily. "I care about us. I care about my sister, not the strangers at that lab."

"And I want us to be fine too, but I won't leave that madman with the power to destroy the world." she told her twin. "If he gets his wish, no-one on earth is safe from him—not even us."

Her brother paced in circles in the alley they were in. She could feel his emotions—his anguish and guilt. Her emotions were the same.

"Pietro," she said bringing his attention back to her. "We have to stop him. We can't let people die because of our rage."

* * *

It took them fifteen minutes, but they had managed to track down Ultron. Both Pietro and she couldn't understand Korean, but the screams of people didn't need to be translated. They followed the panic and pandemonium to find Ultron in a train heading for the outskirts of Seoul.

Pietro gave her a look and she braced herself for what was to come. Her brother picked her up in his arms and dashed toward the train. She really hoped that they wouldn't just smack into the side of the train and become flattened.

Luckily for her, her brother had aimed for a window and instead, they barrelled into the seats on the other side of the train. She could hear the screams of people in the forward cars. She was still trying to get up after crashing into the seats but motioned for her brother go on without her.

When she finally was able to feel her legs and get up, she saw her twin body-check the robot causing the machine to falter in his fight with Captain America. She ran forward, jumping from car to car, trying to get to the front of the train as fast a possible.

When she finally got to the front of the train, she saw the robot try to go forward to her brother. She raised her hands and concentrated on blocking his path. The shelves which held luggage twisted and the metal formed bars in front of the machine.

"Please, don't do this." the machine urged.

"What choice do we have?" she fired back. This being was trying to kill everything and everyone—something that Wanda wasn't willing to do or let happen.

The robot fired a beam of energy at her brother and bashed in the side of the train, flying to safety.

"Pietro!" she screamed. The smoke in front of her cleared and revealed her twin getting up from the floor of the train and raising his hand to stop her from rushing to him.

From where she was, she could see the end of the train tracks. They weren't slowing down. She heard the captain yell into his earpiece at his teammates. She saw as the train sped past the end of the tracks and drifted into the streets. They still weren't slowing down—the momentum from the train was being carried over and they were speeding straight down the streets of Seoul.

The captain turned to her brother and her. "There are civilians in our path. Clear them." the soldier told her brother. Pietro sped out of the hole in the side of the train and was a blur in front of them.

The Avenger looked to her. "Can you stop this thing?" the man asked.

She wasn't sure about that but gave a small nod. God, what was she thinking getting involved with Hydra, Ultron and the Avengers. She was panicking, but all around her, she could see people with tears coming from their eyes, realizing that they would be dead.

She saw a little boy clutching a stuffed bear to his chest and hug his mother. She had to try. She wouldn't let these families be torn apart like hers. The train crashed straight through a warehouse and emerged on the other side. She had to stop this train.

She concentrated and pushed her energy downwards from her hands into the wheels of the train. She poured all of her energy into stopping those wheels from turning, locking them in place and pressing them down as far as she could into the road.

Slowly, the train began to decrease its speed and was slowing down. She could hear the wheel's groan as they collided with the pavement and the train was incrementally stopping. She collapsed to her knees as the fatigue overtook her but she didn't stop pouring her power into stopping the train. Within minutes, they were stationary and people around her were quickly getting out.

She dragged herself from the train and went to the corner of the road, where she saw her brother panting, his hands on his knees trying to support himself.

"I'm fine." her twin told her. "I just need to take a minute."

"I'm very tempted not to give you one." Captain America interrupted walking up to the two.

"The cradle." Wanda said, ignoring the soldier's words. "Did you get it?"

"Stark will take care of it." the captain replied.

She couldn't believe this. They were going right back to where it started. Stark with new technology. "No, he won't." she told the captain.

"You don't know what you're talking about." the man told her. "Stark's not crazy."

"He will do anything to make things right." she said thinking back to her vision of Stark's mind.

The captain stared at her for a moment before turning away. "Stark, come in." she heard him say into his earpiece. "Stark. Anyone on comms." She assumed that there was no reply given the captain's mood.

"Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it." she told the soldier. "Where do you think he gets that?"

There was silence between them. The captain simply turned away and gathered his thoughts while she went to her brother and made sure he was okay. It was minutes later that the captain even bothered to turn around and come to them. She could tell that her words had an impact on him. The soldier was finally thinking about what could have happened.

"I called a friend and a quinjet is coming to pick us up." the soldier informed. "You two are officially in my custody and will be coming back to New York with me."

The man must have seen their expressions because he didn't stop talking. "If you run, I will make sure to immobilize you and have you shipped over to the states while you're asleep." the man threatened.

"Fine." she told him. They couldn't even get away. Pietro had been too exhausted to even walk. Trying to escape a super-soldier didn't seem like a good idea.

* * *

An hour later, they were being driven to Seoul Air Base, on the outskirts of the city, by police officers. There was quite a mess for the authorities in Seoul to clean up and they wanted them all out of the city as fast as possible.

They were let into the South Korean military base without any problems or delays and were immediately herded to a runway where a plane sat waiting for them. She could see that it was an advanced aircraft that looked similar to the Avengers quinjet.

They all exited the car and walked up to the plane. As they did so, the a ramp opened to reveal the inside of the plane. Wanda saw the silhouette of a man in the jet. From what she could tell, he was tall—around six foot one, and broad shouldered. He was wearing a dark tactical vest, with all kinds of attachments and munitions clipped to it, and matching black cargo pants and boots.

"Captain." the man greeted.

"Jackson, what the hell are you doing in Korea?" the captain asked. "I talked to Fury. He told me that he would send a plane, not you."

"Well, he told me to pick you guys up. Get in." the man ordered. "It's hard to explain why a S.H.I.E.L.D. quinjet is still in operation when S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been disbanded."

The captain went into the plane and Pietro followed behind. Wanda was the last person to go inside the quinjet and once she adjusted to the lighting in the quinjet, she could see that the man was actually about her age. He had beautiful green eyes, sun-kissed skin and short, black hair.

The man, Jackson, walked straight past her, hitting a button and closing the ramp. He went up to the controls and sat down in the pilot's chair before hitting a few buttons, starting the engines. She sat herself down quickly to avoid falling and imitated her brother's actions after having seen him strapping himself in.

In mere moments, the jet lifted off of the ground and shot toward the sky. From her seat, she could see out of the front of the plane, watching Seoul get smaller and smaller before they were above the cloud layer. She saw the man flick a few switches and hit a few buttons.

"So Captain, who do we have here?" the man asked, turning his seat to face the inside of the plane.

"This is Pietro and Wanda Maximoff." the captain said. Immediately, the man's hand snapped to his thigh, where Wanda saw a gun inside its holster.

"They are not a threat, Agent Jackson." Captain America told the man. "Stand down."

Slowly, the man's hand withdrew from the holster and went to the armrest of the chair. She could see that his face was still tense and his eyes shot daggers at her.

"It's not agent anymore, Cap." the man said. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s gone. Percy will do."

"Alright, Percy." the captain said. "Try not to shoot either of them. I kind of need them to be living when we get back to New York."

"Of course." Percy replied.

There was silence for a while. "Where did you get the quinjet?" Captain America asked.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. may be gone, but its toys are still lying around." Percy told the captain. "You just need to know where to look."

* * *

The flight had been mostly silent from that point on. Right now, Wanda saw on one of the screens that the jet was approaching the Western United States. Agent Jackson had been completely silent for the flight, turning back to the controls after his conversation with the captain. Her twin had fallen asleep from exhaustion and the captain had decided to take a nap a few hours ago leaving just herself and the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent awake.

She couldn't take the silence anymore, so she unstrapped herself from her seat and went over to the co-pilot's chair. Wanda sat herself down into it and turned to face the man.

"You're very quiet." she told him.

He didn't answer.

"You know, we're the only two people awake on this plane and you might as well talk to me. There's not much else to do and from what I can tell, this thing flies itself." she said.

The man turned to her. "The reason why I'm not talking to you is because of your ignorance." the man spat. "You and your brother enabled the terminator to gain the power to kill millions. Just because you wanted your revenge."

"You don't get to judge me!" she fired back. "You haven't been through what Pietro and I have."

"No, I've been through worse." he told her. "I've known someone just like you in the past. His name was Luke. He was angry too, wanted revenge. And to do it, he almost destroyed his entire family."

"You don't even know what I've been through." she told him. "Do you know what its like to see your parents get taken from you, right in front of your eyes? To feel the anguish and the pain? The anger?"

"I do." he told her. "When I was twelve, my mother was kidnapped. That's how I know how you felt. Unlike you and your brother, I didn't risk the world to get myself justice. I got my mother back, without resorting to helping a madman."

"You don't understand. You haven't lived through what I lived through." she said. "My parents were killed by Tony Stark. His bombs dropped on Novi Grad and blew a hole into our apartment. My parents died but Pietro and I survived, staring at Stark's name on the side of an unexploded shell."

Jackson was silent for a minute before speaking. "You're wrong about Stark." the man told her. "You don't know the whole story."

"What?!" she asked incredulously. "What the hell does that even mean?"

"You don't know the whole story." he repeated. "The side of the story that you know is the one you experienced. If you ask Stark about how his weapons made their way to Sokovia, he'll tell you."

"He's the Merchant of Death." she said quietly after a long while.

"So was Alfred Nobel." Jackson told her. "You need to be one hundred percent sure that its Stark's fault. Not the fault of someone who resold the weapons to the militias, but _his_ fault. If you're not, you won't be able to live with yourself if you punish him for something he didn't do."

Wanda was silent for quite a long time after that. She was thinking about what the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent had said. What if she was wrong for all this time? What if Stark hadn't sold the weapons to the rebels? What if someone else had done that? Before she knew it, she was feeling sick. She rushed into things like a stupid little girl and helped Ultron become more powerful than before. It was her fault.

"Hey," Agent Jackson said, grabbing her hand. "Don't do that. Don't panic. You did something wrong. That doesn't make you a bad person."

"No, it does! I helped Ultron—" she cried before being interrupted.

"Stop that." the man said gently. "The friend that I told you about, Luke, he managed to fix things at the end. He did the right thing and saved his family."

She trembled in fear. This was too much for her. She shouldn't have gotten involved. She should have grieved and moved on, like a normal person. She should have gotten involved with Hydra and Ultron or anyone.

The agent cupped a gloved hand to her face. He turned her to face him. "You are going to be fine, Wanda." he told her. "You and Pietro still have time to make it right. Stark has Ultron's body, right? So its going to be fine."

She nodded at the agent and he took his hand away. "Thank you, Agent Jackson." she told him.

"Percy." he replied with a small smile.

She smiled back and leaned back into the chair. She was so tired of this day. She wanted it to end so that at least she could look forward to a better tomorrow. Her wishes were answered when she fell asleep shortly after that, the exhaustion of the day having finally caught up to her.

* * *

A few hours later, Wanda was woken up by Agent Jackson and was told that they were about to reach Stark Tower. It was nighttime in New York and Wanda could see the glittering skyscrapers as they flew in. The quinjet swept low across the skyline and Wanda saw as they approached Grand Central Terminal. In the background, Stark Tower rose from the ground, a large glass and steel structure that was well lit in the night.

She could see the landing platform that was located near the top of the building where the top floors cantilevered from the rest of the structure. She saw cranes that were in the process of being taken down near the base of the structure. In the back of her head, she remembered a news story about the bottom of the MetLife Building being deconstructed to make way for the expansion of Stark Tower.

Percy pulled in the quinjet expertly to the landing platform. She saw him concentrate as he maneuvered the plane into position on the landing pad, making sure not to collide with the tower. He set them down gently on the platform and opened the rear doors.

"See you later, Maximoff." Percy told her as she walked out.

She entered the building just in time to see him take-off again, off to who knows where.


	13. Chapter 13

**_Rising Tides_**

 **Chapter Thirteen – Theta Protocol**

 **Percy Jackson**

As Percy navigated the quinjet from Avengers Tower, he couldn't help but think about the confused girl that had left the plane. In some ways, she was just like Luke, but the difference between the two was that while Wanda was able to put aside her grudge to save humanity, Luke—for the longest time—wanted to burn the entire world to the ground. The minute that he had seen her, he knew that she was different; there was a different aura around her, one thrumming with power sourced from deep within, not quite as strong as a god or even a demigod, but it was there.

In a way, he was still resentful of her decision to help Ultron—like he was in Seoul—but still, he had to admire her moral compass, rather her newly discovered moral compass. She had worked with the Avengers to stop Ultron from decimating Seoul and had cooperated with Captain Rogers. It was also the way that she acted with her twin brother that made him trust her. The siblings were inseparable, like Travis and Connor Stoll; that kind of loyalty had to be commended.

Percy broke away from his thoughts and checked on the navigation screens in front of him. The quinjet was set to land on the Helicarrier in just under two hours and at that point, it would be a waiting game. Ultron was out there somewhere and the Avengers would have to deal with him, but he was worried about something else, Wanda. She had a great deal of power, but she wasn't adept at controlling it and from the reports he had read, her brother tended to be the fighter and she, the plotter. Both were untested in working with a team and that could be disastrous, especially with their grudge against Tony Stark.

By now, Percy was over the Atlantic and he felt the roar of the seas beneath the plane, felt the power churning thousands of feet below. A beeping noise interrupted his thoughts and the agent looked at the screens in front of him to see a notification. He clicked on it and saw that he was getting an audio call from the colonel. Percy pressed the a button on the screen and the call connected.

"Agent Jackson, I trust your mission was successful." the colonel said. With Colonel Fury, there wasn't ever much of a greeting. If there was, it was brief and then it was business.

"It was." Percy replied. "The Maximoffs didn't put up any resistance and went quietly with the captain. I dropped the three of them off at Avengers Tower about half an hour ago."

"Good." Fury commented. "And your evaluation of the two?"

"My evaluation, sir?" Percy asked.

"Your take on them." the colonel clarified. "What do you think about their abilities? How powerful are they?"

"Honestly, they're wild cards." Percy told the colonel bluntly. "Both are powerful, not quite as powerful as demigods or gods, but still powerful. I didn't see their abilities in action but from what I saw on the local news, their abilities are unique and very useful."

"Do you believe that they will cooperate with the Avengers?" Fury questioned.

"Truthfully, I don't know." Percy said. "The girl, Wanda, she seems to be the rational one out of the two, but even she has problems. Both Pietro and Wanda hate Stark for the Bombings of Novi Grad."

"Anything else, Agent?" the colonel asked.

"No, sir." Percy replied.

There was a brief pause and then Fury spoke. "When you're back aboard the Helicarrier, report to my office for a briefing on your next assignment."

"Yes, sir." Percy said.

"Oh, and Agent Jackson?" Fury queried. "Remember that after this is done and over with, I expect full reports on each assignment. I trust that Phil taught you how to do that."

"Of course, Colonel." Percy answered, pressing a button on the screen to end the call. He pulled up a few settings on the screen and programmed the Helicarrier's position into the navigation computer and set the quinjet to autopilot. Setting an alarm for the arrival, Percy leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes, the fatigue of hopping from time zone to time zone catching up to him.

* * *

 **Wanda Maximoff**

When Wanda exited the plane, she followed her brother and Captain America into the glass and steel building, walking down a long hallway until they reached an elevator. When they entered, the captain pressed a button on the glass panel on the wall and the steel doors closed, beginning their ascent to the lab—apparently.

In mere moments, the doors had opened and what Wanda saw was something which could probably be classified as a mess, but even she could see the complexity of the work there. It was a large work space, and in the distance, she could see that it overlooked some kind of lounge, but there was still no Stark.

The captain walked out of the elevator and both she and Pietro followed him, navigating their way around crates which seemed haphazardly stacked everywhere and pieces of the Iron Man armour that were still being built.

When they reached the end of the lab and found Stark and Banner, her fears had become reality. She saw the metal sarcophagus that housed Ultron's android body and saw that the two men were actually trying to bring it to life, rather than to destroy it. Apparently, that didn't sit well with both her and the captain.

"I'm gonna say this once." the captain warned.

The two scientists looked up from their work, both equally surprised at being caught trying to resuscitate Ultron's android body. "How about not at all?" Stark interrupted.

"Shut it down!" growled Captain America.

"Nope," Stark taunted. "Not gonna happen." The two Avengers were now in a staring match, both wearing the same displeased expression and neither of them wiling to back down.

"You don't know what you're doing." the captain warned, trying to reason with the scientists.

At that, Dr. Banner looked up. "And you do?" he questioned. "She's not in your head? Making you do this?"

The two scientists were doing this because of her. She had done it once more, allowing Ultron another chance to live—this time in a perfect, biological body. She had to stop this vicious cycle from starting once more, she needed to stop the two.

"I know you're angry." Wanda told the man. "But—"

"Oh, sweetheart, we're way past that." the man interrupted, his tone calm yet still full of malice. "I could choke the life out of you and never change a single shade."

"Banner, after everything that's happened…" the captain tried to reason.

"You don't know what's coming!" Stark shouted from his workstation.

"You don't know what's in there!" she shouted back. "You haven't seen its thoughts, its destruction!" But nobody heard her. Everyone was too busy shouting at each other in frustration to hear her words, her warning.

It seemed her brother had gotten enough of the arguing and within seconds, a blur went around the room and the metal coffin was disconnected from various tubes and wires. He stood next to Dr. Banner holding a large power cable. All of them stopped talking, staring at Pietro in surprise, with the two scientists looking on in horror.

"Go on, you were saying." brother taunted before the floor broke from underneath him. Pietro fell through the glass floor and Wanda lunged across the room.

"Pietro!" she cried. She was now next to the doctor and could see her brother laying on the metal floor below, with Hawkeye standing above him.

She turned back around to see Stark try to save the body. In response, the captain threw his shield at the billionaire, but missed as Stark ducked out of the way before blasting the captain with his Iron Man glove. She focused her power, ready to stop all of them when an arm locked around her throat, pressure increasing by the moment.

"Go on, piss me off. I dare you." Dr. Banner spat. He would have to do better than that to get to her. She used her power to create a tendril of energy and shot it toward the man holding her captive. He launched back a few metres and Wanda was now free. She looked around to see both Captain America and Iron Man flying back from each other, apparently having tried to attack simultaneously.

In the corner of her vision, she saw Thor skid into the lab, jumping straight onto the sarcophagus, lifting his hammer, gather lightning and slam it down into Ultron's android body. It only lasted a few seconds at most, but the display was awe-inspiring; tendrils of electricity gathered from various sources around them, joining Thor's power and concentrating their deadly capability into the body.

The light died down mere moments later and the room fell into a deafening silence. What nobody expected however was for the body to have survived the blast and break out of the confines of the cradle. An explosion of power and metal ripped through the room, throwing everyone back and once Wanda rose to look at the destruction, she saw a man of red and metal kneeling nude on the remains of the cradle.

The red man launched himself at Thor, with the god simply throwing him through the window that separated the lab from the lounge. The man was sure to crash through the window and fall onto the streets of Manhattan when he simply raised his hands and he slowed to a halt gently, levitating above the room below.

The man was frozen there, looking out at the nighttime skyline of New York. The captain leapt from his position and made his way to the android when Thor put up a hand, asking the soldier to wait. By now, Wanda was making her way from the lab down to the lounge below and saw as the red being seemed to examine its own reflection in the window.

The red man's body changed and this was when Wanda realized that the being was creating a sort of suit around himself. The being turned from the window and gently landed on his feet in the lounge, looking on at them.

"I'm sorry," the being apologized. "That was…odd."

The being's clothing changed once more, this time with a green suit and yellow cape appearing. The android now turned to Thor, approaching the God of Thunder. "Thank you." the being said.

"Thor, you helped create this thing?" the captain asked with a frown.

"I've had a vision." Thor revealed. "A whirlpool of darkness and destruction that sucks in all hope of life and at its centre was that." The god revealed pointing to the gem that was embedded in the forehead of the android.

"The gem?" Dr. Banner asked, slowly approaching the being.

"It's the Mind Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones. They are remnants of the creation of the universe, what you call the Big Bang." Thor informed the doctor. "They are perhaps some of the most powerful energies in the universe, unmatched in their destructive capabilities."

"Then why in hell would you help Stark bring this thing to life?!" the captain asked, exasperated.

"Because Stark is right." Thor answered.

This confused Wanda even more. When she looked in the head of that being, all she saw was horror and destruction. Life being wiped out, and now Thor was saying that Stark was right to bring this android to life?

"Tony was right?" Banner said incredulously. "It's definitely the end of the world."

Thor turned back to his teammates. "The Avengers have no hope of destroying Ultron. The robot knows too much about us, all of our weaknesses, all of our strengths." Thor told them.

"Not alone, you can't." the android added, walking up to where the rest of the Avengers were gathered. The man finally stopped in front of Stark and Captain America, trying to show no ill will.

"Why does your 'vision' sound like JARVIS?" asked the captain to nobody in particular, looking at the 'vision' analytically, trying to find weaknesses.

"We reconfigured JARVIS's operating matrix." Stark answered. "Bruce and I put JARVIS's protocols in this 'vision' and created something new."

"Tony, I've had my fill of new for a while now." the captain quipped.

At this, the android began to pace around the room, stopping for a brief moment in front of the captain. "You think I'm a child of Ultron?" the being asked the captain.

"You're not?" the captain replied.

"I'm not Ultron." the 'vision' said. "But I'm not JARVIS either. Frankly, I don't know what I am."

At this, Wanda approached the android. "I looked in your head before and saw the destruction of Earth." she told the being.

A scoff came from the other side of the room. Barton was now walking up to the group, having made his way from the underfloor of the lab. "Her seal of approval means jack shit to me." the archer said to his team.

Wanda tried to defend her vision of the destruction when another voice interrupted. "Their powers, the horrors that she has put inside our heads and the destruction that her brother has caused, even Ultron himself are all a result of the Mind Stone." Thor told the Avengers. "But with the stone on our side—"

"Is it?" the captain asked the god before turning to the android. "Are you on our side?"

"It's not exactly that simple." the being replied.

"Well, it better get real simple, real soon." the archer warned.

"I'm not on Ultron's side." the android told them, pacing around the room. "And I'm not on yours either. I'm on the side of life, all life. Where he seeks to end it all, I seek to protect it."

"What's Ultron waiting for then?" asked Stark. "If he wants to end all life, and he has the means, why not do it?"

"He's waiting for you." the 'vision' replied. "All of you."

"Where?" asked the captain.

"Sokovia." Barton answered. "Nat sent me a message through Morse code. Ultron trapped her underneath the Fortress of Novi Grad."

At this, Dr. Banner approached the android, looking directly at the being. "If we're wrong about you…" the doctor warned. "If you're the monster that Ultron made you to be…"

"What will you do?" the android queried softly, as if it was scared to know the answer.

There was a moment of silence between all of them before the android began to pace once more. "I don't want to kill anyone, not even Ultron." the android said. "He's unique and in pain, but he seeks to make the Earth suffer, so I must end him."

The android stopped in front of the coffee table that sat in between a few couches. "Maybe I am a monster, but I don't think that I'd ever know if I were one." the android told them. "What I know is that I must be a _vision_ of humanity. A vision of good, of hope."

"I'm not what you all are, and I'm definitely not what anyone ever intended me to be, so I can't make you trust me." the android said to them. "But if we want to save humanity from Ultron's rage, we must act now."

At that, the android lifted Thor's hammer from the coffee table and held it out for the god to take. Everyone seemed to stare for a second. From what Wanda knew, that hammer could only be lifted by Thor, with plenty of the Avenger's foes attempting to lift it, only to fail. So how was it that the android could lift it as if it weighed nothing?

Her questioned would have to go unanswered for the moment because Thor took the hammer and the Vision walked away from him, into the depths of the tower.

"Right." said Thor. "Well done, Stark."

* * *

 **Percy Jackson**

A noise from the cockpit of the quinjet was what woke Percy up. He jerked up and looked around blearily to see that the alarm he had set hours ago had gone off. He quickly silenced it by pressing the screen and saw as the quinjet's autopilot was navigating the plane to land on the deck of the Helicarrier which was moving at a brisk pace through the Atlantic.

When the quinjet finally landed on the flight deck of the Helicarrier, Percy pressed a switch and the rear hatch of the plane opened and he unstrapped himself from his seat. He got up and nodded in greeting to the technicians that he passed as he exited the plane, heading for Fury's office.

Within a few minutes, and lots of turns through the bowels of the Helicarrier, Percy reached the colonel's office. He knocked on the door and it swung open to reveal Fury at his desk and a large map of Europe on the wall. The colonel turned and looked to him.

"Have a seat, agent." the man told Percy.

Percy obliged and sat himself across from the director, turning his head to look at the map on the wall. He noticed that it was focused on Eastern Europe, more specifically at Sokovia.

"As you know, the Maximoff twins helped the Avengers get hold of Ultron's android body." Fury reminded him. "What you don't know is that Stark and Banner decided to use that android and make themselves an ally."

"Seriously?" Percy asked incredulously. "After Ultron, those two bozos created another robot. This just gets better and better."

"Well, those two _bozos_ , as you put it, did nonetheless create an ally." Fury said. "So, let's not call them completely crazy yet."

Percy stared back at Fury and thought about what the man had previously said. "You said that there was an assignment for me?" he asked.

"Yes, Hill contacted me. The Avengers are leaving for Sokovia, where Ultron has Romanoff and where the platinum bastard is trying to end the world." the colonel informed him.

"I still don't understand how this involves me." Percy said.

"They can't fight Ultron and his sentries while protecting the people of Sokovia. We will be responsible for that. What I want you to do is when we get there, get on a quinjet and get down to Novi Grad and evacuate the people."

"Alright then." Percy told the man, agreeing with his plan.

"We're a bit behind the Avengers so you're gonna have to be ready to go as soon as we're there." Fury said.

"I'll go get my things and prep a quinjet." Percy informed the colonel. He got up from his seat, not waiting to be dismissed and headed for the door.

"You might wanna get acquainted with with Colonel Rhodes first. He's gonna be your aerial support when you get down to the city." Fury said to him, making Percy stop for a moment before continuing on his way.

He went down to the armoury first, changed into a new tactical suit and picked up the blade that Fitz had made him. He examined it quickly, checking that it was still holding together and sheathed it on his back.

Percy was holstering his handgun when another man walked in. The man was tall and had dark complexion and based on the way that he held himself, Percy would guess that this was Colonel Rhodes.

"Colonel Rhodes." he greeted.

The man looked surprised as he noticed Percy in the room. "You're the agent that Fury was talking about?" the man scoffed. "You're a bit young. You look like you should be in college."

"So should the Maximoffs but they're off with the Avengers." Percy countered.

The man pondered that for a second before walking up to him and tried for a handshake. "Colonel James Rhodes, US Air Force." the man said, grasping Percy's hand. "I assume that you're Agent Jackson."

"Yeah. And I'm guessing you're the aerial support Fury was talking about." Percy told the man before getting back to his task of getting his weapons.

"Yep." responded the man, going to the end of the armoury where a large steel crate was stored. It was bigger than a refrigerator and the only thing which indicated that it opened was a slim indentation down the middle and a glowing circle of light in its middle.

Percy watched as the pilot approached the crate and it swung open to reveal an Iron Man suit, this one coloured grey instead of red and gold—the War Machine armour. That would explain why Fury thought that this man would be good backup.

He went up to one of the shelves of ammunition and picked up armour piercing rounds, knowing that if he was to fight a homicidal robot and his posse, he would need something to pierce thick metal.

Rhodes turned around sharply and looked at Percy incredulously, staring back and forth between the armour revealed and Percy. This was one of the most awkward things that happened to Percy. He briefly wondered if this was what a stroke looked like. Was he supposed to do something? Call for a medic?

After a few moments, Percy had gotten tired of the staring which was wasting precious time. "Is there anything I can help you with?" Percy asked the man sarcastically.

It took a while before the colonel got the ability to speak back. "Seriously?!" Rhodes asked incredulously. "Nothing?! No 'Oh, my God, you're War Machine'?! What is wrong with all of you S.H.I.E.L.D. people?!"

Percy had to smirk at that. The man thought that he should be gobsmacked but just wait until he found out what Percy could do. "Trust me, I've seen more surprising things." Percy told the man, getting back to his task.

After rechecking everything, Percy walked to the door of the armoury being ready to go and prep a quinjet. "Try to hurry, Rhodes. We are trying to save the world after all." he quipped leaving the room.

* * *

 **Wanda Maximoff**

Within moments of Thor leaving after Vision, the Avengers had split apart, knowing their way around the tower and getting their things. The twins however were left standing in the middle of the lounge, not knowing where they should be going or even if they should be doing anything.

"The locker room is near the landing pad. You'll find clothes there." Captain America told them as he walked past them. "Don't worry, they're clean. We tend to keep lots of clothes around given our occupation."

She and her brother followed the captain's directive and took the elevator to the upper floor and had turned a corner in the long hallway before them to find the room the man had told them about. It was situated close to the door that led to the landing pad, probably for easy access to a changing room before and after missions.

She had been so busy staring outside at the landing pad, where Thor and Vision were conversing, that Pietro had managed to scare her by throwing a red leather jacked at her. She removed it from her shoulder, where her brother had haphazardly tossed it and examined it for a second before putting it on.

Meanwhile, her brother had gotten dressed in a suit which she honestly thought looked like underwear that people who wore the Iron Man armours might need. Unless Tony Stark had managed to line the inside of the armour with comfortable materials, the users would need to wear a skintight suit underneath to protect them from the sharp metal plates.

When she looked back out at the landing pad, she saw that Vision and Thor were no longer outside, but the Avengers jet was now approaching the tower. She saw as the plane landed smoothly on the landing pad and saw as the pad's anchor points rolled to the jet's landing gear and secured it to the tower.

Within minutes, she and Pietro were boarding the plane, seating themselves near the rear, away from the Avengers. She might not want them dead anymore but she didn't trust that they wouldn't try to retaliate, so she decided to keep her distance.

She strapped herself in, looking on at the Avengers, all of who seemed to have something to do. The flight itself, according to a screen in the front, would be taking about two and a half hours which meant that she had some time to take a nap. Her brother had gotten to sleep and she slept for a little while too on the trip to New York, but Wanda was still tired.

"Wake me up when we're there." Wanda instructed her brother before laying back in her seat and shutting her eyes, with sleep overcoming her quickly.

* * *

More than two hours later, she felt someone grasp her shoulder and give it a shake. Slowly, she began to open her eyes and was met with a dim light, a spring morning in Sokovia. Around her, the Avengers were already suited up completely and were checking on their equipment, making sure that they were ready for the upcoming fight.

Vision came up to them and gave them each one tiny metal device, a comm which they could use to call for help from the Avengers. She placed it in her ear and watched as Pietro did the same next to her. Soon, they would all have to put aside their respective grudges and work together, but Wanda was still apprehensive. She still didn't know if they wouldn't be hung out to dry.

Her thoughts were broken by Captain America. "Ultron knows we're coming." Captain Rogers reminded all of them. "Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire. And that's what we signed up for."

The man took a pause before turning his head to face Pietro and her directly. "But the people of Sokovia, they didn't." he said. "So our priority is getting them out."

Captain America went back to his seat and Iron Man took over the briefing. "Alright, so this is how its gonna go down." the billionaire told them. "Bruce is getting the Widow, Hawkeye's gonna give us cover fire, Thor will have to get to whatever Ultron was building in the city, I will handle aerial support, Vision's got Ultron, leaving Cap and the Wonder Twins to get the people out safely."

Everyone nodded but Wanda couldn't help but bristle when Stark called she and her brother the Wonder Twins. It was obviously not said in a teasing manner which just made her distrust the man more than she already did. She knew that Stark still resented her for the vision that she had inflicted on him and that made her worried that she and Pietro would not be looked after.

The jet flew past the fortress which overlooked the city and landed in the public square near the centre of the city. The doors opened to reveal a fairly empty city with the majority of people still inside their homes, most likely enjoying breakfast on a Sunday morning.

The Avengers broke apart, each off doing their part leaving Wanda and Pietro as the last ones in the plane.

She pulled her brother close and embraced him. "Get everyone out safely but don't try to be a hero." she whispered to her twin. "Don't be cocky and just call the Avengers for help. Be careful."

"When am I not?" her brother asked jokingly before speeding away. That didn't sit well with her because out of the two of them, Pietro had the biggest temper and usually didn't like to do as told. He had been reckless enough without his speed and with it, he had only become more daring.

She didn't have time to dwell on that too much, seeing people start to go about their day. She walked a neighbourhood close to the Reka River which circled the city centre and concentrated on her energy. She felt it build up in her and released it as a mental suggestion to all those around her, giving everyone nearby the urge to leave the city.

Wanda knew that she didn't have to get everyone under her spell, she just had to get a decent number of people. Once everyone else noticed that people were evacuating, they would be doing the same.

Soon, people around her walked out of their homes in swarms. Everyone from grandparents to babies being pushed in strollers were leaving the city centre, crossing the Reka River in order to leave the city. As the city emptied, an air of calm took over with resounding silence washing over the streets.

The calm however didn't last because soon, cracks began appearing in the streets and out crawled Ultron's sentries. The duplicates clawed their way out of the earth, breaking through solid rock like the walking dead, with more flying out from under the Reka. Soon, the skies above Novi Grad were full of robots zipping around and pointing their weapons to the civilians.

Panic ensued around Wanda, with her spell over the masses breaking due to the chaos. People were screaming all around her and she saw as the robots on the ground were attacking the local police. She ran over quickly, charging up her energy and released a blast at the sentry, damaging it severely. A police officer next to her pulled out his gun and shot the sentry multiple times before the metal body slacked.

"These robots are targeting the citizens, you have to get them inside the buildings or out of the city centre!" Wanda yelled over the chaotic scene around her. She knew that it would be next to impossible to round up everyone and get them to safety but they had to try. She left the police officer, immediately going to where a sentry landed on a bridge.

The sentry began to open fire as soon as it was upright. The robot fired blue repulsor blasts at the cars which were trying to get to the other side of the bridge. She ran to the cars and yanked their doors open, dragging their passengers to safety, one car at a time.

Soon, the sentry was close and began firing at the crowd which was stuck behind her. She concentrated and cast a barrier of energy in front of her, shielding the people from the deadly blasts. Wanda could feel her energy draining, she had never used her powers so much before and it was quickly taking its toll. Adding to that the fact that she had to watch both in front and behind her for sentries, it wasn't surprising that soon she lost her concentration.

The sentry fired one more blast, this one breaking through the barrier and catching her in the chest, sending Wanda crashing into the ground. She turned around quickly, looking up to see a repulsor cannon facing her before blasting the robot with a wave of her hand. The sentry was thrown back by the blast, with its offensive systems damaged and Wanda took advantage of that by sending a shockwave of energy to a nearby car, sending it crashing into the metal body and crushing it.

She got up slowly, still trying to get her bearings and leaned against a car and caught her breath. Her moment of peace didn't last long though as the ground began to quake beneath her and buildings cracked. In her peripheral vision, she could see that Hawkeye was nearing her, putting arrows into sentries as he came closer to her.

What happened next was something that Wanda would never forget for as long as she lived. The ground shook ever harder and fault lines began to appear in the streets, creating a zig-zag of lines that seemed to go on forever in a loop around the city. Wanda looked on in horror as the city fractured and the ground on which she was standing began to rise.

One foot, two feet, three, five… it kept on going up. This was what Ultron was planning, taking Novi Grad to the sky, like the meteor that he loved. The demented terminator was going to take her hometown into the sky, with its citizens trapped and use it as a weapon to inflict suffering on a global scale.

In the sky, Ultron's sentries gathered forming a sort of barrier around them and began to speak. "Do you see the beauty of it?" she heard his voice ask. "The inevitability, you rise only to fall." Each and every one of Ultron's body doubles was echoing those dark words, sending chills up her spine.

"You, Avengers, you are my meteor. My swift and terrible sword which I will swing upon the Earth." Ultron taunted. "And the Earth will crack at the weight of your failure."

The psychotic robot didn't stop there. "Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me." the robot said, with the doubles looking straight at her. Ultron definitely held a grudge against Pietro and her for having delivered the android body to the Avengers. Beside her, Barton nocked an arrow and let it fly, spearing one sentry in the eye and caused it to crash to the ground.

Unfortunately, one rose from behind it and replaced its compatriot. "It means nothing." Ultron spat. "When the dust settles, all that will be left in this world will be metal." The robot stopped talking, leaving them all with an ominous promise of suffering.

She saw as the city began to rise past the hill which housed the fortress and soon the city was rising to the height of the mountains which surrounded it. It wouldn't be long until they were too high up and the air would get too thin, killing them all. They would have to find a way to get everyone off this pseudo-meteor and prevent the city from crashing back into the ground.

If the situation before was bad, it had gotten worse after Ultron's tirade. More and more of the metal abominations rose into the sky and landed in front of them. All began to discharge their weapons and the chaos only grew worse. Wanda pulled people out of the way of blasts when she could and pushed them inside buildings, making sure to cluster people together and not leaving anyone alone in a building.

"Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely." she heard the captain order on the comms. "The rest of us have one job, tare these things apart. You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed… walk it off."

She knew that the end of that speech was supposed to be a joke but with the amount of sentries around them, Wanda couldn't help but think that this was going to end in death for all of them. In the corner of her eye, she saw an elderly woman who was being chased by a sentry and Wanda ran toward her, sending a blast of energy at the robot, blowing it to pieces.

Making sure to use her own body as a shield, Wanda guided the woman to a safe building and left her in the hands of police officers. She immediately headed back outside where Barton was still taking down the sentries one at a time and used her powers to pull a sentry from its flight and slam it into another. The ensuing explosion caught even more of the robots in the blast, giving both Wanda and Barton a moment of reprieve.

"Go, go, go!" Barton shouted at her, grabbing her arm and pushing her away from the sentries that had suddenly appeared. The archer shoved her through a window and used his body to shield her from the blasts behind them. They both crawled on the ground until they reached relative safety behind a thick concrete wall.

"Oh, my God." Wanda breathed. "How could I have let this happen?! This is all my fault." She had never before felt the feeling that was taking over her body. She felt a weight in her gut and began to breathe heavily. Was she having a panic attack?

"Hey, hey." Barton said to get her attention. "Look at me. It's your fault, its my fault, its everyone's fault. Who cares?" The archer's words didn't calm her but they at least distracted Wanda from her worries.

"Are you up for this? Are you?" the man asked her. "Look, I just need to know because the city is flying. The city is _flying_."

She didn't respond. "Okay, look. The city is flying and we're fighting an army of terminators who want to use us as a meteor for global extinction. And I'm using a bow and arrow to fight them off." The man told her. "This doesn't make sense, but its what's happening."

His speech was interrupted by a blast which penetrated the concrete wall and the archer responded by nocking an arrow and shooting it straight through the hole that had been created. "I'm going back out there because its my job. And I can't do my job and babysit you."

She understood what the man was saying but in that moment, she couldn't shake off the fear, the regret, the self-loathing. She had been the cause of all of this; sure Pietro was there with her, but she knew that if she had insisted, her brother would have given up Strucker's experiments and none of this would have happened.

"What you did and what you were before this doesn't matter." the archer said, pulling her from her thoughts. "What matters is what you choose to do now. Look, if you want to stop, I understand—you never signed up for this. I'll send your brother to come and find you and it will be fine."

The archer paused before offering her another choice. "But if you go out there, you're going out there to kill these monstrosities." Barton told her. "If you go out there, you _are_ an Avenger."

She gave him a small and subtle nod, still trying to find the strength to get up from the ground. The archer got up from his place, and pulled a cartridge from his suit and nocked the arrows the elongated from the cartridge. "Alright, good chat." the man said to her before going outside.

She heard explosions coming from outside and knew that the archer had managed to kill a few sentries. The happiness that bubbled inside her as a result did not last long, with a heavy silence falling upon the area before she heard the telltale clatter of metal. More sentries had arrived.

Wanda peeked from the doorway and saw that there were sentries that were quickly surrounding the archer and the man couldn't fight them off. He was crouched beside a car, trying to scope out the enemy. Barton wouldn't be able to fight them all off—there were at least ten.

She stood up shakily and gathered a breath. The shaking in her body stopped and she set her expression into one of calm before stepping outside and launching a wave of energy at the robots. Using her powers, she ripped their bodies to shreds and used the pieces as projectiles against the others.

Soon, the sentries were reduced to scrap metal and the area surrounding them was completely quiet except for the sounds of the battle raging in the distance. "Alright, we're all clear here." Barton called into the comms after waiting a moment to make sure no more sentries were around.

"We are not clear!" she heard Rogers shout in the comms. "We are very not clear!"

"Alright, coming to you." Barton responded.

Before the archer even turned around, a silver blur appeared and snatched Wanda up in his arms and she was off to the battle. Within a few seconds, she was back on the ground and her brother was standing across from her with a smirk on his face. That little devil enjoyed the fact that Wanda was unprepared for that and was now leaning against a wall trying not to throw up.

"When we're out of this mess, I'm gonna kill you for that." she promised her twin when she was finally sure she wasn't going to be sick. In response, the smirk on her brother's face grew even wider and she was tempted to use her powers to throw something at his head, but he would most likely see it coming anyway. "Come on, you're taking me to the People's Square." she instructed her brother.

Her twin picked her up again and dashed her to the square where the police was firing at the sentries in a line, all crouching behind the cars that were abandoned by the people. This time, when her brother set her down, she was prepared and did not have to catch her breath.

She concentrated her powers into creating an undulating blast of energy, taking out multiple sentries at a time. Around her, she saw as the city had finally risen past the mountains and was now approaching the cloud layer. From what Wanda remembered when she was in school, the highest mountain that was in Sokovia stood at twelve thousand feet and if they were now going through the cloud layer, they were much higher than anything else in the vicinity.

"The next wave is gonna hit any minute." the captain warned over the comms. Wanda was focusing on getting people into the buildings around the square, clearing the streets for the fights which were bound to happen. "What do you got, Stark?" the captain asked.

"Well, nothing good." the billionaire responded over the comms. "Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface, if you guys can get clear."

Wanda's heart constricted from hearing this. Even Tony Stark, a certifiable genius had no idea how to get everyone back down safely. Was she supposed to let these people die and flee? It had been her fault that all this had happened, after all. She couldn't just leave and watch as the thousands still stuck in Novi Grad were killed.

Luckily, the captain had the same thought. "I asked for a solution, Stark, not for an escape plan." the soldier chastised.

"The impact radius is getting bigger every second." the billionaire warned. "We're gonna have to make a choice."

Wanda walked to the door of the building and saw as the Captain and the Black Widow were both looking over at the horizon. They were slowly exiting the cloud layer and from here, the view was breathtaking, luckily only in a figurative sense. But it wouldn't be long before the city was too high up for any of them to breathe. Their comms must have still been active because Wanda could hear their conversation, plain as day.

"Look, Cap, these people are going nowhere." she heard the Widow say to her teammate. "If Stark finds a way to blow his rock—"

"No!" the captain interrupted. "Not till everyone's safe."

"Everyone up here versus everyone down there?" the Widow asked incredulously. "There's no math there."

"I'm not leaving this rock with anyone left on it." the captain told the Widow. At that, Wanda felt relief. Even if it meant death, she couldn't let these people die because of her mistakes. She would have to save all of them or die trying. In her heart, she knew that the guilt of leaving the thousands up here to die would have killed her.

"I'm not saying that we leave." the Widow said sombrely. "There's worse ways to go."

At this, Wanda felt that she was intruding on a private conversation, but she knew that if they had wanted to, they would have switched off the comms. Either way, it still felt wrong to listen in on a conversation that was happening between friends because she had not been anything close to friendly with any of the Avengers.

"Where else am I gonna get a view like this?" the Widow asked.

There was a crinkling on the comms and a new voice joined the conversation. "I'm glad you like the view, Romanoff." the voice said. "It's about to get better."

Wanda didn't understand the true meaning of those words until she heard the roar of what sounded like airplane engines. What she had not expected was for a fully armed aircraft carrier to rise from the clouds, flying easily as if it weighed as little as a feather.

* * *

 **Percy Jackson**

Percy strapped himself into the pilot's seat and started the quinjet's systems. He made sure that its fuel tank was full and that its armaments were loaded. Based on what Fury told him, it was going to be a very precarious situation that he was flying into and Percy wanted to be prepared for the worse. He was settling into the seat of a quinjet when Fury's voice came on the comms system.

"Jackson, change of plans." the colonel told him. "The city's on the move. We're gonna have to catch up to it."

Percy had to wonder if Fury had lost his marbles. A city, on the move? "What does that mean?" he asked.

"You'll see for yourself." the man replied cryptically. "Let me patch us in with the Avengers first."

He didn't understand what was happening but he knew that even if Fury had gone mad, he would still have to help with the evacuation of Novi Grad. Percy closed the plane's hatch and pressed a button, sending the plane to a hydraulic platform. A crinkling noise sounded on the comms and Percy could hear the Avengers.

"Where else am I gonna get a view like this?" he heard Romanoff ask someone.

At this point, it was probably no use to try and make sense of what was happening. Fury was talking about moving cities and now Romanoff was talking about the view that a battle apparently provided. Percy's life had been weird before S.H.I.E.L.D. but this was like a whole new level of weird.

"I'm glad you like the view, Romanoff." Fury called. "It's about to get better."

As the platform reached the flight deck, Percy understood what the colonel meant now. The freaking city was moving! It was actually flying right in front of his eyes, rising up higher every second. Percy glanced down at the altimeter on the quinjet and saw that the city was now soaring above the world at twelve thousand, nine hundred feet. By now, things like this shouldn't surprise him, but it still kinda did.

"Holy shit." Percy gasped. He really hoped that his words hadn't been broadcasted everywhere and luckily, it seemed that he had spoken them quietly enough because Fury just spoke to the Avengers.

"Nice, right?" Fury asked the Avengers on the comms. "Pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's got a bit of mileage on her but she'll do."

"Fury, you son of a bitch." the captain said.

"Ooh!" Fury chastised. "You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Percy ignored the conversation that was going on between the two and focused instead on getting to Novi Grad.

"Quinjet HC-25, you're go for launch." Percy heard from the bridge comm channel. He started the engines and quinjet lifted off of the flight deck. He navigated his way to the flying city and landed in the empty square that lay nearby. When the quinjet's rear doors opened, he was met with a disastrous scene. Buildings were crumbling and cars were on fire, with the parts of a hundred robots littering the streets.

He didn't have the time to be analyzing the situation so Percy unstrapped himself, gathered his weapons and walked out the rear hatch. In the distance, Percy saw as a swarm of robots noticed the Helicarrier and began to fly towards it. Unfortunately for the robots, they didn't notice Rhodes flying above them and were quickly shot down.

He walked quickly to the Widow and the captain who were standing at the edge of a torn bridge with Pietro Maximoff.

"Well you guys sure know how to throw a party." Percy quipped, gesturing to the destruction around them.

Immediately, the three figures turned back sharply, not having noticed Percy there. It was understandable though, given that they were staring at the Helicarrier, which as a marvel of its own.

"Jackson?" the captain asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Fury sent me." Percy replied. "But don't worry, he sent gifts too." Percy approached the two Avengers and handed them each a Glock pistol as well as flares to alert the lifeboats. Luckily Percy had the foresight to pack extra weapons because it looked like they were all going to need it. "Lifeboats are incoming." Percy told the two. "Better start rounding up the people. I'll cover you."

As the first lifeboat landed on the ground, and its ramp swung open, the people in the buildings around him rushed out, some crying at being rescued. They all swarmed to the lifeboats, being helped aboard by the S.H.I.E.L.D. staff onboard as well as the captain and Widow.

Soon, most of the boats were full and were now leaving the city and returning to the carrier. But it was strange, there weren't any of Ultron's sentries around. Why would the psychotic robot not attack? It made Percy on edge. Something was up.

He sheathed his gun and pulled his sword from his back. Ultron wasn't going to be coming for the citizens. He wanted an audience for what was about to happen. Ultron was going to destroy the Avengers.

"Colonel." Percy called into the comms. "The sentries aren't here for the people. They're regrouping for a final showdown."

"You may be right." the colonel replied. "Almost all of the lifeboats are safely on board. We had an incident involving an overzealous sentry but its been taken care of."

Fury paused for a moment before giving him an order. "Stay with the Avengers, they'll need help."

"Yes, sir." Percy replied.

* * *

Percy had decided that he wouldn't be going with the Avengers to fight Ultron. He knew exactly what the robot wanted and for that, he had to thank the throngs of monsters that he dealt with before.

Ultron's plan was to overwhelm them and watch as the Avengers would fail, but Percy wasn't gonna let that happen. His theory was proven right when he saw Ultron fly above the square and hundreds of his drones followed.

"This is exactly what I wanted." Percy heard the robot speak from his place behind a car. "All of you against all of me. How could you possibly hope to stop me?"

It sounded like the metal bastard still had no clue about him which was a good thing. Best not to give away his position yet.

"Well, like the old man said." Stark replied. "Together."

With that, the battle resumed and robots flew in the sky once more. The throngs that had been in the square were now advancing to the Avengers and whatever the structure in the ruins was. When the first sentry ran past him, Percy got up from behind the car stabbed it in the neck with his sword.

The rest of them noticed him and Percy smirked as they all converged on him. They didn't know what they were in for. He leapt forward and slashed through more of the sentries, swinging his leg to kick one that had snuck up behind him. He pulled out his gun with his free hand and shot the sentry full of bullets.

In the ruins of a church, Percy saw as the Avengers were busy with their own fight. And luckily, Ultron's main body was preoccupied with that rather than with him. Concentrating on the moisture in the air and the water that remained trapped in the city, Percy felt a tug in his gut. Water broke through the ground below and a wave flooded the square, slamming the sentries together and breaking them into tiny pieces.

As more converged on him, Percy began to feel weariness overcome him. There wasn't much water to use around here and the air was definitely much thinner than he was used to. If this fight didn't end soon, Percy didn't know how much help he would really be. He fired his last bullet into the chest of a sentry and went to reload his gun when one grabbed him. Percy spun around and threw the robot onto the ground and grabbed onto to its head and pulled. Like the Minotaur's horn from years ago, it broke off surprisingly easily.

By now, Ultron's numbers were dwindling with the Avengers having destroyed a large portion of them and Percy having attacked their line from behind. To his horror, Percy saw that several sentries attempted to fly off of Novi Grad. Luckily, a red man and War Machine took care of them, with the red man ripping them apart with his hands and War Machine pumping them full of lead.

Percy made his way back to the church and met up with the Avengers. They were now all standing around the pillar in the middle of the church and were discussing when to leave.

"Nice to see everyone again." Percy said as he walked in.

They all turned to face him. He saw a grateful look on Captain America's face, with the soldier most likely having realized that the wave of water that washed away Ultron's sentries was due to him.

"Where were you, secret agent?" asked Pietro angrily. "We could have used help."

"Calm down. That wave you saw outside wasn't from a broken pipe, that was me." Percy said calmly. He knew that tempers tended to act up in frustrating situations and he didn't want to have this kind of infighting right now.

The speedster looked surprised at his words but his bafflement would have to wait. They needed to take care of this situation before they all died of hypoxia. Percy was used to low oxygen environments, but those were usually underwater, where he was most at home.

"What's the plan?" Percy asked the captain.

"The plan is to leave." the captain replied. "Wanda is going to watch the key. The rest of us have to destroy the last of Ultron. When that's done, we all leave."

"You make it sound so simple." Percy told the man.

"Well, I was going for something motivational. Home stretch and everything." the soldier replied with a sheepish look on his face.

"Alright then." Percy said. "Let's get off this rock."

With that, Percy nodded to the Avengers and the Maximoff twins before going back out into the square. He headed for the last lifeboat still remaining and stood watch nearby.

It was calm around him but suddenly three sentries flew up from the side of the city and landed in front of him, all of their weapons ready to fire. He aimed his gun only for one of the sentries to knock it out of his hand and for the weapon to slide and fall off the edge of the city.

Well, it looked like Percy was going to have to fight the robots the good old-fashioned way. He pulled out his sword from the sheath on his back and swung it at the machine. It raised its arm and blocked the swing, and grasped the blade with its other arm and snapped it in half.

"Okay." Percy breathed. "Time for something more reliable." He reached into his pocket and pulled out Riptide, the weapon not having been used recently. He uncapped the pen and brought it down on the arm of the sentry, hoping to the gods that Celestial Bronze worked on robots.

Luckily for him, it did and the blade struck true, cutting off the sentry's arm. Percy quickly kicked back the sentry before dealing with its partner, with him putting all of his strength into one stab. With Riptide's Celestial Bronze, it took little strength to pierce the sentry's thick metal armour, and the lights that had been on in its eyes dimmed.

Giving his sword a twirl, Percy walked up to the damaged sentry a bit further ahead with a grin on his face. He forgot how much he loved using Riptide, the sword was like an extension of his arm, bringing forth deadly destruction. With one swing, the sentry's head fell off and Percy breathed a sigh of relief. Behind him, the last of the stragglers had boarded the lifeboat and now all that the ship was waiting for was the Avengers.

"Guys," he called into the comms. "We've got to wrap this up, the air is getting thinner and thinner and one lifeboat's still waiting for you guys."

"Copy that." Rogers called into the comms. "I'll send Barton and Romanoff. See if Wanda's ready to go."

He was about to reply when he heard the telltale hum of jet engines. When he looked up, he saw the Avengers jet flying low in the sky above the square, its gun deployed. In the distance, he saw as Barton was helping a kid out from underneath rubble and the jet was heading straight there.

"Barton!" Percy cried out in warning.

The archer turned his head just in time to spot the craft, but it was too late. There was no way for any of them to stop it. If he used his powers, the very ground underneath them could give way and shatter and none of his weapons would have any effect on a plane.

He saw the cockpit of the plane and inside was Ultron. Moments later the robot fired into square with a look of glee on his metal face. A shower of bullets fell down upon the destroyed market and Percy watched in horror as the bullets approached the archer and child.

Before the bullets reached them, a silver blur appeared in the way and pushed the archer and child behind a car. It was Pietro Maximoff. Percy immediately ran from the lifeboat in the direction of the downed speedster.

He kneeled down next to the man and saw that bullet holes dotted his chest. Percy didn't have to be a son of Hades to confirm the death of Pietro Maximoff. Suddenly, he felt a burst of energy wash upon the damaged city, it was similar to the energy that demigods sometimes exhibited—Wanda. He could tell that the others had felt it too regardless of their mortal bodies.

"Get his body to the lifeboat." Percy instructed the archer. He turned and picked up the child who was coming out of his reverie and was about to see the dead man in front of him. Making sure to shield the child's eyes with his chest, Percy turned around and walked up to Captain America who had come to check up on Pietro. He handed the child over to the captain, pointing his head in the direction of the lifeboat.

"I'll get Wanda." Percy told them.

* * *

It took him a few tries, not having found Wanda in the church or any nearby buildings, but instead a trail of destruction. What used to be robots were now pieces of metal that were barely larger than an inch and the buildings in front of him were damaged, with their sides crumbling underneath Wanda's power.

When he found her, she had been kneeling over Ultron's main body inside a destroyed tram car, with her hands raised. In an instant, a red glow surrounded her and the robot's chest expanded outwards until its power source was ripped from its chest.

"We have to go now." he told her softly.

The girl in front of him didn't reply and only stared off in the distance. Percy knew that she was grieving but he couldn't help with that now. He had to get them off the city so that Stark and Thor could destroy it. Capping Riptide, he entered the destroyed tram car and approached her, hoping that her instinct wouldn't be to blast him away.

He crouched down beside her and gathered her into his arms. The look on the girl's face was haunting. Percy could see just how close she was with her twin, with them looking out for each other and ensuring each other's happiness. Pulling her close, he got up and made for the quinjet that he had landed on.

"Anyone on comms?" he asked into his earpiece.

"Yeah." answered Stark sombrely, most likely having been made aware of the situation.

"Wanda's out for the count, I'm getting her back to the Helicarrier." Percy told the billionaire. "Someone else is gonna have to watch the city."

"Copy that." Iron Man told him. "I'll keep an eye on the key from up here."

Percy placed Wanda in one of the quinjet's seats and strapped her in. The blank look with which she regarded him was off-putting and Percy wondered if the girl would be alright after this. Based on the extent of her power, it wouldn't be a stretch to assume that she had felt her brother's death and that wasn't conducive to recovery.

He didn't dwell on it and instead went in the pilot's seat and started the plane. Within moments, they were hovering over the city and were now flying to the Helicarrier. It was just in time too as the city plummeted from underneath them.

"Did everyone make it out?" Percy asked in the comms.

"We're all clear." he heard the captain say. "Are you off of the city?"

"Yes." Percy replied.

"Stark, Thor, you're good to go." the captain said.

Turning the plane slightly, Percy saw as the city fell and as lightning gathered before striking the city directly, causing fault lines to appear everywhere. Soon the power of Thor and Iron Man combined was too much for the rock and it collapsed completely. Instead of a meteor, it was a shower of chunks of rock which would fall upon the Earth. Still dangerous, but not enough to cause too much damage to a nation, much less the Earth.

They were safe, the Earth was safe.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Rising Tides**_

 **Chapter Fourteen – Aftermath**

 **Wanda Maximoff**

Sorrow—that was all that she felt ever since that piercing pain. She had felt Ultron's wrath befall her family. She had even felt her brother's final moments. They had always been close but after Strucker's experiments, something felt different between them—like they had somehow become connected. That bond allowed them to know if their sibling was okay, it allowed them to share their emotions without any physical contact or verbal communication. Handy, except for when it wasn't.

Wanda had felt it as the spray of bullets shredded through her twin's body. Each one, a tiny dagger being plunged into his body. First, it was his lungs, then his abdomen, and one had even managed to pierce his heart. She didn't remember much of what happened after that pain, it was all a blur. It felt like she was a machine on autopilot, a terrifying feeling of not being in control. Wanda was only semiconscious of the barrage of destruction that she unleashed upon everything nearby.

Vaporization would be the best term to describe her actions, for it was true; she turned metallic robots into infinitesimal specks of silver no bigger than a fleck of paint. Her mind had one single purpose, avenge… or perhaps it was revenge—she couldn't really make the distinction at that point.

All she knew was that she was moving in a trance-like state across the now empty streets of Novi Grad to what she knew was the source of her anguish—Ultron. She ultimately found the architect of her loss in the one of the streets of the city revelling in the destruction of her birthplace. She supposed that the streets that were being ripped apart now were the same ones that she had once ran in, being affectionately watched by her parents. Those happy memories of playing with her brother under her parents' watchful gaze didn't last, they crumbled from the sheer amount of emotion going through her body.

Raising her hands, she let out all of her pain, her sorrow, her anguish, placing all of her emotion into her vicious attack. The android didn't have a chance against her, grief had given her more power than the machine could ever seek to know. She wanted the machine to feel her pain, the feeling of losing the last family she had on earth. The strength of her powers had thrown the demonic droid into a tram car and she followed, carefully manipulating her power to rip out the android's power core, crushing it and tossing it aside.

The only thing she felt was sadness that the android had no real heart for her to crush—Ultron was a machine that could never truly feel human emotion. In a single moment, the robot's form went slack, no longer having the power to operate. It was irrational of her to stay, that she could realize, but it didn't really matter anymore.

Her brother, the only person in the world who loved her, was gone. Someone who had always been by her side, her annoying and sweet brother. The one who had always looked out for her, the one who at the same time was always teasing her about her bossiness. He was gone, in an instant, and her life had changed. Her last living relative, the last of the Maximoff family dead—she was the only one left.

The battle around her didn't matter anymore. She had wanted to right the wrong that she and Pietro had committed, but it would seem that fighting wasn't enough recompense for the universe or maybe even for God. She had lost her brother—that was her punishment for her actions.

In her debilitated state, she could still feel the environment around her—the small pebbles falling out of the walls of buildings, the robots flying overhead—but she couldn't bring herself to care. A powerful presence approached, and part of her wished that it would end her life. Wanda didn't know if she could handle surviving a battle when her twin was dead, when she was the last of her family. Perhaps her efforts here would be enough for God to accept her in heaven… God was supposed to be merciful after all.

It would be best if she died. She would join Pietro and her family, she would escape the feeling of emptiness that she felt. Wanda supposed that it would even make sense if she died. The heroes would have won and the villains would have paid for their actions.

Unfortunately for her, it would seem that she wouldn't be joining her twin, as she was gathered into someone's arms and pulled close. She couldn't control herself, her eyes which had been holding back tears for the sake of vengeance were now blurry. Her voice had long given way to silence, her throat not having the power to utter any sound. She must have been quite a spectacle—the broken girl who had lost everyone, everything.

The figure carried her to a plane, strapping the dead-eyed girl into a seat and going into the cockpit. Wanda couldn't sustain the energy to stay awake anymore, her body falling back into the seat exhausted and broken.

* * *

 **Percy Jackson**

Novi Grad's destruction had been dramatic. The combined blast of Iron Man and Thor had caused immense power to surge through the entire city centre, turning Ultron's would be meteor into a shower of rocks. If the city had been much higher then it would have appeared to have been a meteor shower, bringing beauty instead of destruction.

But that too would have been a terrible outcome because in order for it to have occurred, the city would have had to have risen past the stratosphere into the mesosphere—three hundred thousand feet into the air, where oxygen and heat would be virtually nonexistent—a place that would have killed them all.

Clearing his thoughts about the city's fate, Percy maneuvered the quinjet on the landing strip of the Helicarrier, touching down gently and waiting for the landing platform to recede into the bowels of the aircraft carrier. Once his jet had been deposited in the hangar, he opened the rear doors and went to get up.

In the cabin was Wanda Maximoff, the young woman now unconscious in her seat. Alarmed, he quickly approached the girl, undoing the straps of her seatbelt and checked her vitals, gently placing his fingers on her neck. Her pulse was steady, not too fast, not too slow.

While she seemed fine, who knew what could have happened to her in the battle, so Percy resolved to take her to the med bay for further examination. The medical professionals there could take a look at her and make sure that she didn't have any internal injuries that were unseen by him.

Carefully picking up the young woman, he walked out of the quinjet, manoeuvring around the throngs of agents rushing around the hangar. He spotted the exit in the distance and headed for the elevator down to the med bay. Arriving on at med bay level, the elevator doors opened and Percy almost wanted to stop in his tracks.

The scene that lay in front of him was one of chaos, with patients strewn in gurneys in the hallway, with the med bay having obviously been overrun by patients. This reminded him all too much of the battles that he and his friends had fought on behalf of the Olympians.

Clearing his head of those thoughts, he stepped into the corridor and scanned the scene for a medic. Luckily for him, a man wearing scrubs approached them when he saw that Percy was carrying the unconscious young woman.

"Diagnosis on her?" the man in scrubs asked.

"Vitals are okay. Heart rate is stable but we still need to rule out internal injuries." Percy informed the man.

"Any allergies she might have?" the nurse asked.

"I wouldn't be the one to ask. I just met her yesterday." Percy replied.

"Well, we'll just have to hope that she doesn't have any allergies, then." The nurse grimaced and pulled out a tablet and began to note down what he had been told. "How long has she been out?" the medic asked.

"Not long," Percy replied. "She was still conscious when I took off from Novi Grad. I would say that she has only been unconscious for ten to fifteen minutes."

"Okay, good." the man replied. "We're going to do a full set of scans and we need to get her started on an IV drip. Do you know how do do one?"

"I can do the IV, but you're going to need someone else to do her scans." he said. He remembered Simmons showing him how to treat injuries in the field, but he was fortunate enough to not have needed that training, at least until now.

"Alright then, I'll come with you." the man told him. "We need to find a gurney for her. If we can't find one, we'll have to put her in a room and treat her there."

With that, the man rushed into the hallway, clearing a path for Percy to follow. After a few turns down the various corridors, the nurse motioned for him to go to the elevator.

"There aren't any gurneys available and the med bay itself is only being used for critical patients." the man said, pushing a button on wall to close the elevator doors. "Are your quarters free?"

"Yes," Percy told the medic. "Room 525."

The man nodded, pushing the button for Berthing Level 5. It only took them a few moments to reach the correct level, and the doors swung open. Both he and the man rushed out and went straight for Percy's quarters, with the nurse opening the door for him.

"Set her down on the bed," he instructed the demigod. "And make sure to watch her head. She could have a concussion."

Percy did as instructed, heeding the man's advice about not moving Wanda's head too much. As her set her down, he could see that her hair had fallen onto her face, creating a curtain of chestnut over her porcelain skin. He reached down and gently brushed it away, hoping that the young woman would not have any serious injuries.

"Please tell me that you haven't moved anything from the medicine cabinet in your bathroom." the man said while searching the room.

"I didn't get the chance to look around." Percy admitted. "I haven't been on the ship that long."

"Well, welcome aboard then. No better time to get acquainted with your ship than in an emergency." the man joked. "I'm Axel, by the way."

"Percy." he replied, shaking the man's free hand.

Axel quickly got to work, bypassing Percy and spreading out the contents of the first aid kit that he had apparently found in the medicine cabinet. Percy could see an IV kit, a steel medical bracelet, a disinfectant kit, sterile gloves and a mobile scanner tablet.

"Alright, come here." Axel told him. "Prep her for an IV, I'll be going to get an IV stand."

Percy stepped forward, thinking back to Simmons' lesson on IV insertion. Percy used the hand sanitizer to vigorously scrub any dirt or bacteria from his hands and grabbed a pair of gloves from the kit.

Putting on the gloves, Percy grabbed the IV kit, pulling out an IV needle and a bag of IV fluid. From what Simmons told him, he would have to connect the bag to the IV line, and drain the line of any air bubbles. Leaving air bubbles in an IV could lead to air being trapped in an artery, clogging the blood supply.

Percy watched carefully as the air bubbles drained out, closing the IV line once all of them had dispersed. He then used one of the ties included in the IV kit to tie a tourniquet around one of the woman's arms.

"Okay, I'm back." Axel said, somewhat out of breath but holding an IV stand. "Looks good."

Percy cleaned the prepared arm and pushed the IV catheter into one of the visible veins, making sure that the IV was at an angle and not straight. Once it was in completely, he taped down the tube and connected it to the IV line which Axel had set up on the stand. He discarded all of the used medical equipment into the waste basket nearby. Percy would have to remember sending it to biohazard waste later.

"I'll give her a scan and place a medical bracelet on her so we can monitor her condition." the nurse told him. "You, my friend, need to head to the bridge, I'm told that Colonel Fury is waiting for you to start his debrief."

"Shouldn't someone stay with her?" he asked with a frown. He wasn't really comfortable leaving Wanda alone, especially given how she was going to feel when she woke up and reality set in once more.

"I'll be with her for now," Axel told him. "But after this, I'll need to get back to the med bay. I'll get an agent to stay with her and contact you if she wakes up."

"Alright." Percy said, more comfortable knowing that she wouldn't wake up alone. From his own experience with loss, it was best to have someone around you and Wanda would definitely need some support, lest she do what he did and remain catatonic.

* * *

When Percy reached the bridge, he found it quite lively with Thor and Vision conversing quite animatedly. Iron Man was speaking in hushed tones to Captain America, with the captain's expression taking a turn for the worse. Whatever those two were discussing, it wasn't something that was good.

Hawkeye had his feet up on the glass table in front of them, nursing a bandage-covered wound on his side. There was one Avenger who was completely silent, Black Widow, who seemed to be deep in thought. Percy took a glance around the room, looking for one missing Avenger, and wondered where Dr. Banner might have gone. Had he been hurt in the battle? Could the Hulk even get injured?

Fury was farther back from the table, standing father back with Commander Hill, both of them in a serious conversation. In the distance lay a large window that took up much of the bridge's front wall, with a section having been blown out during the battle now covered with a large tarp.

As he approached the large table, the God of Thunder noticed him and rose to meet Percy. The god put up an arm in greeting, and Percy following Olympian custom grasped the god's forearm in greeting, with the god doing the same to him. The god towered over him, with Percy, who was tall himself, having to look up to meet his gaze.

"So you are the warrior that I have heard so much about?" the god asked. "The mortal with power over water."

"Percy Jackson." the demigod said, somewhat apprehensive about meeting the god. While the Asgardians were not the same as the Olympians, they both had lived in contact with humanity. Could the alien have known what he was?

"Son of Jack, you fought valiantly today, and your show of power was impressive." the god said, with a knowing gleam in his eyes. "Your father must be quite proud."

Percy tensed, the god definitely knew what he was.

"Of course, your lineage is your burden to carry, and not one that I would divulge to others." the alien told him in a low voice.

The demigod sighed in relief. "Thank you." he whispered back to the alien, both of them taking a seat at the table.

Fury and Hill, having finished their conversation, walked up to the table, and took a look around it.

"First order of business, the sentries," Fury started, getting everyone's attention. "Did we get them all?"

"Yes," the android confirmed. "I destroyed the last sentry myself as it tried to escape the remains of the city. From what I can tell, no more sentries remain."

Fury nodded to the android and looked towards Iron Man. "Stark?" the colonel asked. "Is that what you observed?"

The billionaire nodded in response. "I had FRIDAY do a scan of the web and she couldn't find any trace of Ultron. Vision's plan worked, Ultron's gone for good.

"Good, one less psycho in the world," Commander Hill said. "Now, we need to discuss bringing in Banner. We haven't heard back about his status since he dropped Natasha off on the flight deck."

Percy turned to the spy and saw a pained look flash across Romanoff's face before the woman composed her expression once more.

"We don't know where Bruce is, Maria." the spy answered. "Last I saw, he was on our jet when he cut off comms. Stark's trying to locate him, but so far, no hits on his location."

Fury frowned. "We cannot have members of the Avengers going rogue, Romanoff." the man warned.

"He hasn't gone rogue, Fury." the captain said. "He just saved the world, shouldn't he be allowed some downtime away from this never-ending circus?"

Fury turned to face the super soldier. "Not when this circus is his job." the colonel replied. "It isn't easy convincing people not to arrest you all, especially now that I'm 'dead' and can't very well tell people where they can stick their arrest warrants."

"Ah, I really do miss the benefit of having S.H.I.E.L.D. around." Hawkeye joked. "Plus, this pseudo retirement I'm in kinda sucks."

At that, Stark gave a laugh, causing the room's occupants to stare at the billionaire.

"Is something wrong, Stark?" Fury asked through gritted teeth.

"Oh please, as if S.H.I.E.L.D. could ever stay dead." the billionaire told them. "It seems way too convenient that you happened to have found this Helicarrier, in working condition too, and a full crew to staff it."

That got everyone's attention, with the Avengers turning to face the man in charge. Fury visibly tensed at their actions.

"Stark, this really isn't the time." Hill warned, trying to delay the inevitable.

"No, I think it is." the captain replied, speaking for the billionaire. "So why don't you tell us how the hell S.H.I.E.L.D. is still operational? And why the hell its being kept from everyone."

"I have to agree with Spangles." Stark said. "I'm curious about just how you got the money to fix up this boat, because if I remember correctly it was practically a wreck by the end of the invasion."

"Now is really not the time for this," Hill warned them. "We need to discuss more important matters."

"No, we should discuss this. Here and now." the billionaire replied with a glare. "By the way, not telling your boss that you're back to your top secret spy job is not cool. And is totally a fireable offence."

Fury sighed, having obviously realized that silence was not an option. "S.H.I.E.L.D. was never really dismantled after D.C." the colonel revealed. "It went underground and Hydra was purged from its ranks and the organization was rebuilt from the ground up."

"And how exactly did you fund this rebirth of S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Romanoff asked, breaking her silence.

"You know me, Natasha. I have trust issues." Fury told her. "I made sure that there were charities, shell corporations and government accounts that diverted money to a trust for S.H.I.E.L.D. That way, even if governments would stop funding us, we could still operate."

"So you're back to your old tricks, huh, old man?" Barton asked.

"Not exactly," Fury replied. "I'm not the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore."

"Who the hell is then?" Rogers asked. "Hill? 'Cause I don't think that there are many high ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agents left after Hydra."

"Its not me," Hill replied. "Let's just say its an old friend looking out for us."

"What are you saying, Lady Hill?" the God of Thunder asked.

"She's saying that its someone who worked with us before." Fury said. "It's someone who is trustworthy and that's all you really need to know."

"You know, I'm getting really tired of these secrets, Nick." the captain told him.

"Well, sometimes secrets are necessary." the colonel replied. "It doesn't matter to any of you anymore, S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer oversees the Avengers Initiative. You are all free agents."

"Don't we deserve to know?" Romanoff asked the man, her voice a bit strained. "After all we've done for S.H.I.E.L.D.? After all _I've_ done for you?"

"It's not my secret to tell, Natasha." Fury told her. "Believe me, if it was, it would be one thing that I wouldn't keep from any of you; you all deserve the truth, but that isn't something that can be freely given."

"That's not good enough anymore, Fury." Iron Man replied. "We risked our lives to fight for S.H.I.E.L.D. before and now when we want answers, we get none?"

"Look, that piece of information is not something that I can give you, but I can tell you that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been recruiting agents." the colonel revealed. "Some of whom are very special."

"You mean the enhanced?" Hawkeye asked. "Like Jackson?"

Percy tensed at having the team's attention brought onto him. He would rather not have to defend his decisions to these people again, not after the meltdown they had when they saw him in Iowa. They acted like he had been reckless by joining S.H.I.E.L.D. when really, joining S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't even close to the most reckless thing he had done.

"Yes and no." the colonel told them. "We have found new kinds of humans. Descendants of an ancient race who shared human DNA and alien Kree DNA."

"You would be wise to consider the consequences of your actions." Thor warned. "The Kree are known as a dangerous and war-obsessed race, and their creations are likely to have inherited those traits."

"We are aware. Your friend came down to warn us about them," Fury told the god. "But S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new policy is to treat them as people, not as weapons or as aliens."

"That may be true, but enhanced people are dangerous, Nick." Barton warned. "You've seen the amount of damage they can cause."

"And you've seen the amount of good they can accomplish." Fury reminded the archer, gesturing to Percy.

"You all want to be in the know, yes?" Fury asked rhetorically. "Well, I haven't exactly been forthcoming in who is now a part of S.H.I.E.L.D."

The colonel was now looking directly at Percy, his expression asking his permission to divulge his secret to the Avengers. More people than ever now knew that he was a demigod and that somewhat worried him. He supposed that he could trust them to know, they had risked their lives to save mortals, as he had and had proven themselves to be reliable and competent.

"Big surprise there, Mad-Eye." Stark quipped.

Percy sighed and decided to get it over with. The sooner they found out, the sooner they could process what it really meant to have demigods around.

"He means me," Percy said, making their heads turn toward him. "I'm not an enhanced human or an Inhuman."

"Then what are you, a pixie?" Barton asked sarcastically.

"No," he replied. "I'm a demigod."

The room was silent for a while and Percy could almost see the gears turning in their heads, processing what he just said. After a few moments, Tony Stark had regained his wits and decided to speak.

"So, are you like Thor's kid?" the billionaire asked. "Because if you are, I'm not sure Jane is gonna be very happy with Point Break."

Percy had to laugh at the thought of being Thor's son. It would seem that everyone assume that Thor would be his father because he was the only god they knew. Percy could only imagine Thor having to explain having a child to his girlfriend. That would have been an awkward conversation.

"No, I'm not Thor's son." he replied after calming down.

"Oh god, please don't tell me you're Loki's kid." Barton pleaded, with a concerned expression on his face. He couldn't fault the archer for asking that, Loki had been the one to mess around his brain before.

"No, I'm not Loki's son either. I'm not Asgardian." he told them. "I'm a son of Poseidon."

"Poseidon?" Black Widow asked. "God of the seas, storms and earthquakes? Old guy with a trident?" Thunder rumbled loudly outside at her words.

"Quit messing around, Thor!" Barton told his friend.

"That wasn't me," the God of Thunder replied. "That was his father."

The superheroes had a somewhat anxious expression on their faces. It couldn't be too simple to learn that yet another civilization thought dead was actually still alive and flourishing. Though it was probably an easier thought to process given that Thor had shown the world that the Norse were not just myths.

"Huh, so there are more gods out there." Stark commented after a long pause. "Does that mean you're from outer space too?"

"No, I'm a local, from New York actually." he replied. "And yes, the Greek gods are still alive."

"Cool," Stark replied. "So are there more of you demigods around? And where do the Greek gods live? Greece?"

"Yes, there are more demigods and the gods live in New York too." Percy answered.

"New York?" the billionaire asked. "I thought they'd be on Mount Olympus or something."

Percy smiled. "Well, they don't live on the mountain anymore. They tend to follow human civilization as it evolves, so they've changed their centre of power from Mount Olympus to other cities around the world. And New York is their preferred home for now."

"Well, the city grows on you." Stark joked.

"You're all taking this much better than I expected." Percy said, looking around the room to find that their expressions hadn't changed too much since his revelation. They all seemed fairly calm about the news.

"Well, I think that I speak for everyone when I say that our ability to be surprised has diminished greatly over the last few years." Rogers told him with a small smile.

Percy nodded and almost forgot that the man had been born so long ago. His response had been calm at hearing that the old order of the past was wrong, a thought that likely wasn't viewed in high regard during World War II. It reminded him of Nico, someone who had been ripped from his time only to be deposited into a new one—something Percy assumed was a trying experience.

"I'm glad that you are all taking something well for a change, but I think we should get back to our debrief." Fury said interrupting their conversation. "We have more important things to deal with."

"Which would be?" Barton asked.

"How about the hundreds of wounded aboard, Barton?" Hill said with a frown.

"Well, I'm not a medical doctor, but I think the best course of action would be to get them to hospitals on the ground." Stark said. "No matter how advanced this boat is, I don't think that it can beat a hospital."

Fury nodded at his suggestion. "I agree, we need to get them to hospitals as soon as possible."

"How much time until we land?" Rogers asked.

"Well, we're hoping to land near Rome, in the Mediterranean." Fury told the super-soldier. "That's about twenty minutes away from our current position, the real problem is going to be mobilizing medical response teams to ferry the wounded from the ship to Rome."

"I can handle that." Stark volunteered. "I can fly ahead and let the hospitals know to send teams to the Civitavecchia, the port of Rome."

"The rest of us should help move the wounded off of the ship and onto dry land." the captain suggested. "If we do that, we can create a conveyor that sends people where they need to go."

"Cap's right," Romanoff said. "We have to be organized about this. If we let people out all at once, it will generate panic with people wanting to be first in line for treatment. We should triage them onboard and let them out through one exit only."

"Wounded personnel are to stay onboard the Helicarrier. We can't afford to have them taken by local authorities for questioning." Fury instructed.

"Is that really what you should be thinking about, Nick?" the captain asked rhetorically.

"I'm thinking that wounded agents would not want to be detained like criminals." Fury replied to the captain. "Once the civilians are unloaded, the med bay will be cleared up enough for the personnel to be moved there."

"What about the girl?" Barton asked. "I heard she was unconscious. Would she be staying onboard or would we be dropping her off in Rome?"

Percy was somewhat baffled by his question. Wanda had just lost her brother and the archer was suggesting that they just leave her in a foreign country to deal with that. Should they also just leave her brother's body next to her with a note? Would that be something that people did?

"Clint, she is in no condition to be left alone." Vision chastised, breaking his long silence. "Her brother is dead and she is not even lucid. It would be irresponsible to leave her alone."

"Vision is right," Thor said. "She needs to stay with us. In any case, her emotional state is fragile right now, meaning that her control over herself is not strong. She could very well be a danger to herself and others."

"So its settled then," concluded Hill. "Wanda and the agents stay onboard. The wounded and deceased will be released to Italian authorities. Stark will inform the Italians while the rest of you help move the civilians."

"Get to it." the colonel said, dismissing them.

* * *

 **Wanda Maximoff**

Sleep was supposed to bring rest and relaxation, but to Wanda, it only brought a reminder of her failure. Failure to keep her brother safe, failure to keep her family together, and her failure to distinguish right from wrong. That was all she could think about. She caused Pietro's death, she was there when they helped Ultron and that mad robot eventually ended her brother's life. All for what, for revenge on the Avengers? For revenge on Stark?

She should have just let it all go. It would have been better that way. She could have lived a nice, quiet life. Go to university, get a degree, get a job. Start a relationship, maybe marriage and a few kids? She could have visited Pietro on the weekends, he could have become a police officer, like he had always wanted.

Instead, there would be none of that. There would only be the pain of knowing that she had a part in her brother's death, something that would haunt her forever.


	15. CHAPTER 14 UPLOADED & READ ME

_**NEW MESSAGE**_

 _ **July 14, 2017**_

 _ **Hello everyone,**_

 ** _I am sorry that I have not been able to update this story as often as I would like. But I was working before and the last days of work were hectic, trying to finish everything I needed to do before I left. Since that time, I have finished with work for this year and will likely not get another job until next summer. While many of you are asking for me to update this story, know that you should only expect the rest of Chapter 14 to be uploaded as I have not written much for Chapter 15. From July 14 to July 25, I will be taking a holiday in Europe. I'm tired after a year of school and months of work and I need some time just to decompress and do something fun, so I will be on holiday for the next twelve days. After that, I'm all yours for updating. I realize that in the past I said that I would be free after university, but university and my own life costs money, which meant that I had to work in order to have enough money for both university and my personal life. I know the feeling of reading a story and not seeing it being updated, it sucks. To put time into reading a story that is not yet finished and to have to wait for the next instalment. I hope that you all will understand my reasons and that as soon as I am able to, I will update again._**

 ** _Thank you._**

* * *

 _ **OLD MESSAGE**_

 _ **Please note that Chapter 14 has been partially updated. I have uploaded what I have written so far, which is about 2/3 of the chapter.**_

Hi everyone,

I know that I have not updated in a while and for that, I am sorry. I have been unable to update frequently because I got a full time summer job. Fortunately, that job will be ending in about three weeks and I will be able to get back to updating. For now, Chapter 14 is partially updated, what I have written so far. The rest will be uploaded tomorrow or by the weekend. The chapter could have been written faster, but I found myself troubled by the content of the chapter. I had to make sure that the interactions between the characters were not rushed and that Wanda was given enough time to process what had just happened. Because of that, I have rewritten the chapter more than five times. This version that I have uploaded will not be changed and will simply have more added to it. I chose to not upload the rest because it was not ready and where this part ends is a good temporary end for the chapter.

I hope that you all understand why I have delayed updating and I hope that you all continue to read this story. I have not and will not abandon you.

\- Fanfiction1190


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